New Orleans: An American Masterpiece

"The real issue is not whether to rebuild the Big Easy, but how...

Cities are collective works of art, and New Orleans is one of America's masterpieces -- a delectable multicultural gumbo whose value is only more pronounced in a nation where the same stores, banks and malls make every place feel like every other place...

It already is a cliche to say that the flood gives New Orleans a chance to turn disaster into opportunity and to build a truly 21st Century city. But the most progressive rebuilding plan of all may be based on a new interpretation of an old idea: Building with respect for nature rather than arrogantly dismissing it."