New Orleans: Three Years After Katrina

By Rebecca McDonald, August 29, 2008

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WireTap and Rock the Vote photographer Rebecca McDonald revisited life in New Orleans, three years after Katrina, and two weeks before Gustav.

Before Katrina, Charity Hospital was one of the busiest public hospitals that provided care for everyone, including many of the city's uninsured. It remains closed, and it's future is unknown. Lack of schools, housing and hospitals makes it hard for people to move back. Only 60 percent of the city's pre-Katrina half a million population is back.

New Orleans native DJ Soul Sister has returned home and remains a local staple.

Gideon Christian Fellowship International Church on Elysian Fields Avenue serves as a place of rest and rejuvenation for the weary.

Circle Foods, a vibrant community grocery store before Katrina served as a main point of reference for many New Orleans residents during the hurricanes. When it was confirmed that Circle Foods was under water, the worst fears became real. The iconic Circle Foods remains closed to this day.

Thousands of New Orleans buildings remain unattended, standing as stark reminders of neglect frozen in time. More than one in three residential addresses remain vacant or unoccupied, according to a report by the Greater New Orleans Community Data Center.

The heavily damaged, Lower Ninth Ward only has 11 percent of its pre-Katrina homes occupied.

The Lower Ninth Ward. Overgrown. Overlooked.

The New Orleans Habitat Musicians' Village in the Upper Ninth Ward, spanning eight acres, was the brainchild of New Orleans natives Harry Connick Jr. and Branford Marsalis. In addition to creating affordable housing, the village created community among the city's musicians who carried on the musical legacy of New Orleans.

Faced with housing shortages and rents now 46 percent higher than before Katrina, the Musicians' Village now provides timely zero-interest financing on the newly constructed single-family homes, encouraging ownership and community revitalization.

Rebecca "B FRESH" McDonald, from the Twin Cities, MN, is a Hip Hop feminist, photographer, visual artist, and community activist. She is currently a citizen journalist with Rock the Trail -- a project of Rock the Vote and WireTap.