Brad Pitt wanted to help New Orleans recover from Hurricane Katrina — but those affordable homes turned into another disaster

MarketWatch ^ | Jan. 31, 2022 | Judith Keller

[nickcarraway]

Only 6 of the 109 homes remain in reasonably good shape

Brad Pitt’s Make It Right Foundation built 109 eye-catching and affordable homes in New Orleans for a community where many people were displaced by damage wrought by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Now this housing development is in disarray. The vast majority of the recently constructed homes are riddled with construction-related problems that have led to mold, termites, rotting wood, flooding and other woes.

At least six are boarded up and abandoned. Many residents have filed lawsuits that are still pending. That is, a nonprofit that built houses with input from Frank Gehry and other prominent architects amid much fanfare for survivors of one disaster then ushered in another disaster.

Structural and other problems are making many residents fear for their health. Make It Right, despite what its name might suggest, has not resolved these issues and has stopped assisting residents. Instead, the movie star-led nonprofit has apparently become defunct.

As an urban geographer who researches on housing development, I’ve been following Make It Right’s travails since 2018, when residents tried to get the New Orleans City Council involved and have municipal authorities inspect the homes. The situation has only deteriorated since then, highlighting the perils that can accompany nonprofit housing development.

Supposedly sustainable housing

Located in New Orleans’ historically Black and low-income Lower Ninth Ward, this cluster of affordable homes built between 2008 and 2015 was unusual for several reasons. Notably, these residences were sold, rather than rented to their occupants.

The architects who created these homes also tried to make them green and sustainable following a “cradle-to-cradle” philosophy that centers around the use of safe and reusable materials, clean water and renewable energy. All the homes had solar panels and energy-efficient heating and cooling systems.

[RWGinger]

You are right about that.

[PTBAA]

“...Many are starting to pay for repairs out of their own pockets rather than wait for the nonprofit builder to resolve issues....” Many (how many?)...starting (now?)....

This is just another “victim” article about people who bought on the cheap and when problems showed up, they sat waiting for someone else to fix their problems while those problems got progressively worse.

I lived in Louisiana for four years. I’m familiar with the very different cultures and the mindsets. This is the community where hundreds of people died during Katrina waiting for someone to save them rather than doing anything to save themselves. This is just another example of the same dysfunctional mindset that attempted good deeds are wasted on.

My “give a damn” meter for that city is busted. If you are feeling outrage, start a GoFundMe account.