CONFERENCE SPONSORS

PARTICIPATING ORGANIZATIONS

Tulane City Center
An applied research center that aims to coalesce the numerous outreach initiatives and service learning efforts at the Tulane School of Architecture and to provide leadership in establishing a design-driven, socially conscious and environmentally responsible urban agenda for the City of New Orleans. http://www.tulane.edu/~tsahome/TulaneCityCenter.html

House of Dance and Feathers
Ronald Lewis' House of Dance and Feathers celebrates the oldest Social Aid and Pleasure Club in the Ninth Ward. Mr. Lewis intends for the museum to serve not only as a storehouse for historical artifacts, as it did before the disaster, but also as an educational and cultural center for neighborhood youth. The building will serve as a space for neighborhood participation in the continuing history of the Ninth Ward, and as a practical and cultural design resource for members of the community who will rebuild.
www.citybuild.org/schools/hdf.html

The Porch Cultural Organization
The Porch is an community organization committed to the Seventh Ward area seeking to promote and sustain the cultures of the neighborhood, city, and region and to foster exchange between cultural groups. They focus on a four square block radius within this neighborhood of New Orleans.

Survivor's Village
Survivor's Village is a tent city erected on June 3, 2006 by the residents of New Orleans public housing. Joined by other public housing residents, the residents of St. Bernard Public Housing Development initiated the tent city as a response to the federal government's continued undermining of the residents' rights to return to their homes and resume their leases, which is guaranteed by the UN International Policy on Internally Displaced Persons.
www.survivorsvillage.com  

ACORN
After Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans and the Gulf region, ACORN quickly began fostering communication among displaced residents and fighting for better disaster assistance. With the support of many friends and allies, we have preserved homes through our gutting program, organized for the right to return and rebuild and provided a national voice for displaced families through the national ACORN Katrina Survivors Association.
www.acorn.org

Friends of Lafitte Corridor
FOLC is a grassroots organization, organized in 2006 after Hurricane Katrina gave special priority to rethinking the New Orleans landscape, specifically working to preserve the open space of the Lafitte Corridor from the French Quarter to Canal Boulevard by advocating and facilitating the creation of a greenway with bicycling and pedestrian paths linking neighborhoods, cultural features, historic sites, retail areas and public spaces.
www.folc-nola.org 

Stay Local!
A imitative of the Urban Conservancy, Stay Local! is a city-wide initiative for creating a strong economy based on locally owned and operated businesses in New Orleans. We encourage consumers to shop locally and help independent businesses compete more effectively.
www.staylocal.org

Zeitgeist Multidisciplinary Arts Center
Zeitgeist, famous for their "theatre experiments" presents film, video, performance art, visual art and literary events six nights a week, year-round and shares the large new space with Barrister's Gallery. Zeitgeist is considered one of the premiere alternative arts centers in the South.
www.zeitgeistinc.net

Mid City Neighborhood Organization
A neighborhood planning organization in Mid City New Orleans developing grassroots plans for community recovery.
www.mcno.org

University of New Orleans Transportation Center  www.planning.uno.edu

Steps to a Healthier New Orleans (Steps), an affiliated program of the Louisiana Public Health Institute (LPHI) www.stepsla.org

Rails-to-Trails Conservancy’s mission is to create a nationwide network of trails from former rail lines and connecting corridors to build healthier places for healthier people.   In 1986, Rails-to-Trails Conservancy was founded on one great idea: to preserve these irreplaceable rail corridors by transforming them into multi-use trails. When we opened our doors, there were 250 miles of open rail-trail in America. With 20 years of leadership, this “great idea” has blossomed into a movement. Today, Rails-to-Trails Conservancy makes it possible for millions of Americans walk, run, skate and cycle on more than 13,500 miles of open rail-trail running through rural, suburban and urban communities.  www.railstotrails.org
 

MQVN Community Development Corporation

MQVN Community Development Corporation is a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving, strengthening, and developing affordable housing, economic development, and education in order to enhance the quality of life for Vietnamese American residents of New Orleans East and beyond. MQVN CDC was established by the Mary Queen of Viet Nam Church in May 2006 to assist Vietnamese-American Katrina victims in New Orleans East rebuild their lives and their community. www.mqvncdc.org

COLLABORATING ORGANIZATIONS

Architects/Designers/Planners for Social Responsibility (ADPSR)

Their conference, entitled The Great Gumbo: Stirring the Pot of Community Design will be held June 3-5 at LSU in Baton Rouge, LA.For more information on The Great Gumbo, visit www.communitydesign.org or www.adpsr.org.

© 2006 Planners Network ♦ www.plannersnetwork.org