we have to make sure we are not telling a narrative about against each other but more of a continuum that discusses the progress of educators across time and now they were together to create better opportunities. doc jones. that you are. nice suit. [laughter] you informed a partnership with him to make sure you could reach out to the community. how is that going in terms of community relations when you are bringing in a new type of teacher? ms. jones: especially in the -- much moreyears progress on behalf of individual schools and charters to try to figure out the right ways to engage our community.

there is no way a school should operate in a vacuum and not actually be deeply rooted in the broader context that our students live in. i see many examples across the city of where schools are really working much harder to do that. a lot of what i focus on the last four years has been helping both leaders who may not be from here but actually have good intentions figure out ways they can bridge more effectively within their community. walter: you have been a critic a times mr. perry: at times. walter: you always have something interesting to say. you are critical of two things. one, the expulsion policy which is if you are in one of these types of schools, you have an incentive to expel the back kids

so that your scores go up and you don't the deal with it. and then there was the other criticism. mr. perry: special needs. the way i explain it is that the development of what we have in new orleans occurs generally in three stages. the immediate aftermath. we were literally pulling schools together, cleaning them up, finding teachers. then you have a second phase and this is where a heap of criticism is deserved. it was at the point when we got and the focus was clearly on deconstructing the former system. process people were expelled. we can talk to the youth empowerment project, families and friends for incarcerated

children, and the data bears it out. right around 2007 the expulsion rate was around the same as it what it was pre-katrina. then there was this third phase. to the credit of john and his team there were a lot of corrections that were done. the rsd and new orleans education way it looks now is different than it was three years ago. walter: recovery school district has addressed to your monday exposure problems? mr. perry: i am not satisfied. but there was a recognition that there was a problem and prior to that i don't think so. he saw the lawsuits. southern poverty law center. walter: what got done? mr. perry: to the certain extent, leadership. i will less john as well, how was the axles and issue addressed?

mr. perry: when they came up with a common expulsion policy. if there is anything innovative about new orleans, it is not charter schools. it is the ability to balance centralization and decentralization. stormg clearly after the we had charter schools and special needs people were falling through the cracks. that is a fact. aside, if there is any moment in time where we have to be painfully and brutally honest, it is this week. too much of our conversation is coming from external pressure from all over the country, forcing us to tell a narrative that is either all good or all bad. that has to stop. [applause] walter: but that is why i am calling on you. mr. perry: john white and several other charter leaders,

as well as community groups, pull people together to say we have to address suspension and expulsion. we have got to address special needs services. differentiate finances are special needs kids. these are the lessons the rest of the country can take. we need a storm, we need a hurricane katrina. but what we are learning is you cannot just decentralize. centralized factors that address special needs populations and that is what i think leadership brought to the table. let's drill down on the walk-in. what do you think that they did or you all did because you are part of the community, to

satisfy first the special needs thing? how did that get fixed or is it halfway fixed. the common enrollment process. you had together an to put yourprocess child based on an older rhythm. there are issues with it but it takes the responsibility out of the hands of the schools who were not necessarily incentivized not to take them but there clearly was not an incentive to take them. the need to remove the responsibility. and that got done. walter: what about expulsions? mr. perry: that was about school leaders coming up with common suspensions. walter: so each school cannot have a separate policy? there is one board that approves expulsions? mr. perry: in generalmr. perry: that is the thinking.

i think one thing that is misunderstood is that the politics of schooling in new orleans don't feel nearly so divisive to us. instead, it feels like republicans and democrats in baton rouge and romans in washington working together to try to find solutions. the most innovative thing about the solutions that have been found on other changes to schooling. we still have school buses, lunch, recess, we still of high school football. it is the changes to the lake government overseas schools. that has been the thing that looks the most different in new orleans. how role in government as regulators is so different. we don't tell principles which curriculum to take, who a higher, or how to spend their money. we guarantee equity. equity for all kids to all schools.

equity of resources, financial capital so the low income kids, the special needs kids yet more money to be served in those schools. and equity of outcomes. if you cannot teach them to read, we will see it. that is not a partisan issue. that is just a common sense way of government overseeing schools and it is been to the credit of republicans, and we have a debt -- republican governor. and democrats, we had a democratic governor this began. a democratic senator that is in support of all this. it is been to the credit on people on both sides of the aisle. walter: let me move to miss york. how is it to navigate the system when you have five kids? experienced soe when i cast the letter into my younger kids going to the system, been there done that. it is not what you think it is. --is not perfect but it is

if you don't already know where you're going your lives will be lost. you are competing other debts with other parents to find the best schools to get your kid in. walter: how has the one at process helped? help her in general? ms. york: it has not helped at all. it has not hurt. it has done nothing for me personally. i'm sure it is done ever thing for some other parents. but nothing for me. i found a great school and i went to that school and it myself known and luckily i got my kids in. there is nothing wrong with one app, -- walter: do you like having a system where you had the choice? ms. york: google is an amazing thing. [laughter] [applause] i wanted to know the

grades, how many kids graduate. to can't kid goes believe in st. charles -- camp believe in st. charles. i picked it and got in. the school she was attending was a c-school. if i have to throw my back i will but a lot of parents hunt for the best school they can find. doctord and my child's wanted in bed and neither one of us got it. walter: victoria, tell us about what you joined as a 10-year-old and what it was like being a student in the system and getting to brandeis. victoria: let me thank. when i initially started re-think, both of my older brothers -- it became a family endeavor.

my older brothers were already in re-think. i was initially thinking why would he want to spend my summer doing that. it's a nonprofit organization that works to get the voices of youth in the rebuilding process of new orleans schools because truth be told no one really knows what is happening in the schools but the people who were there. that is what re-think does and it tries to do a lot of policy changes. basically the idea is to empower you. it feels as though an hour -- in this time we live in we forget that we are doing all of this for youth. what we should really be doing is working with youth. walter: did you help figure on school? how did you choose were to get a high school and how did you get into brandeis from their? victoria: both- of my brothers went to high high., sci drop my whole educational career

i followed them which worked for me. it's a up there and marvelous school, at least when i was there. when i was there i enjoyed it. there were a lot of downsides giving it a school that had so much turnover which is a major problem in new orleans, especially for students. when you have turnover in schools, while that is horrible for the adults going through it, but imagine being the kid in thinking i guess i am not worth it for you to stay. it is what go through these -- your head when you are in the system. i was actually forth in my class, which because i had great friends and amazing people who were like you need to get a college, and if you don't pass the ap testing don't care as long to learn something. obviously it is something right and obvious the something happened. let me open it up.

i want to make sure we're not hogging all the airtime. is there any question? i can't believe victoria is not inspired a question. yes? the microphone is a front of the. >> hello, i'm principal academics at sign high. [applause] walter: oh the principal. >> can you talk about what really works for you in the charter system in terms of your and in your experience. the charter experience what really made it work for your andents? for you victoria? how we are saying that progress in terms of the student experience. victoria: first off, hi. [laughter]

victoria: it is hard to say it but when it comes to what works for me it is not really what worked in terms of the charter system. it is in terms of the people because personally a system is just that. it is a word. a bunch of words that we as human beings consult put together in order to get definition to what is going on in our lives because that is all we know how to do. when i look at the school system i went through, i don't just look at the words. but rather the people within it. what helped me in the system i was in was the teachers. and the fact that they were there because they were like i get a paycheck at the end of the day nor because they were like i have to make sure i t stand the test, but rather i want you to learn and i care about you. that is what helped, knowing

that someone cared about you. does anyone care enough for me to actually learn? thank you, thank you for actually caring and wanted to be there. now i am in college and i am doing amazingly comes to writing essays and doing math. of course, there are some things that i wish we could've caught before when i was in high school. right now i'm facing a lot of learning disabilities in college that have brought me back very far. a because i went to a school that ice the cared about me and worked to make sure every student actually got what they needed, i feel more prepared than i would have if i were to school they didn't have that. you have to understand that schools in general in new orleans are built on a system that has a long run of not -- of continuing path of not only but also courageous this in the ability to actually

move forward. we live in a city where social justice is very vague. right now and before. that is a beautiful thing. we have to live in a system where no matter what we say, it is silly system of oppression for many people. not just a youth who are black, but youth of every race and creed and everything. when you go to a school that looks at you and says it is not -- it says just because you are black, i'm not good -- going to criminalize you. i will not act as though you are the problem. i will look at the system is say you were the problem because you are not actually working to make sure she or he stays within the system. or better yet, improves it. [applause] walter: i can think of no better words to in that -- end that. you are inspirational and it shows the complexities.

we are out of time. everybody on the panel will be over there because i'm sure you have more questions to ask, especially of victoria. [laughter] [applause] >> the new york times reports that 10 years since katrina new orleans is now wider and richer in still changing. this tweet shows the map of new orleans today. the areas in yellow sure the white population has increased. in theas in white show year 2000 in new orleans. pictures from a few minutes ago. president obama touring some of the homes. that tweet from bloomberg. the president is in new orleans this afternoon, he is visiting a community center in the new

orleans lower ninth ward. that particular neighborhood was one of the hardest hit by the storm. the president is expected to talk about climate change in our communities need to prepare for stronger storms. live coverage of the speech this afternoon at 5:00 eastern. "washington journal" will be live from new orleans tomorrow and saturday morning. tomorrow, former rc morial.a and on saturday, you will video of the hurricanes aftermath and the resulting recovery over the past 10 years. google open our phone nice to get your phone calls. "washington journal" starts every morning at seven at lock eastern. saturday afternoon, there will be a memorial marking the 10th anniversary of hurricane katrina. live coverage begins at 6:00 eastern. clinton, mayor mitch landrieu, members of congress, northern's residence,

leaders and advocates will take part. we are showing you discussions from the "atlantic" magazine. the category three hurricane killed nearly 2000 people and dislocated an estimated one million people. this portion of it now includes keynote remarks from the president of the rockefeller foundation. [applause] >> good afternoon everyone. what an amazing morning. it really has been for so many of us. the reflections, the remembered says. the thoughts about moving forward and certainly the day so far has been focused so correctly on the unbelievable changes that new orleans has experienced in the decade since katrina. i would like to take some time to focus on how new orleans is

changed so many of us. as cities now realizing we confront a range of threats to our social and economic and physical well-being. as a nation, addressing the increasing cost of disaster response and recovery. and more personally, as funders rethinking our grantmaking and our influence in this dynamic and complex and disruptive world. it is hard to believe that just 10 years ago the devastating impact of katrina were almost unimaginable in any city in the united states. as mayor landrieu has said 70 new orleansat way was the canary in the coal mine. we are seeing disruptions in our cities happening almost every week. whether it is a technological glitch in our markets in new york, or flooding in houston, a severely worsening drought in southern california, or social

uprisings in baltimore and ferguson. i can think of no less than a dozen showstopping events that have brought cities to a standstill in the last year. maybe we all need to confront the crisis -- that crisis is becoming the new normal. cities of always double challenges, but in the 21st century they are coming with greater frequency and greater impact, as you know better than anyone. there was not a moment we can code -- .2 where all of this changed -- to a point for all of this changed. the increasing an incipient dangers of climate change. citiese of our nation's not just as population centers but it's critical engines of our economy in crucibles of creativity. and the interconnections of our global economy, which means that what happens in one city has national and in -- international

ramifications. against this backdrop, there is the challenge of crumbling urban infrastructure. revolutionraphic that is revealing a new generation of urban vulnerabilities in the united states. when all of these trends collided they do not make a sound. but in the aftermath of hurricane katrina we heard the results. the rushing of the waters of the levees. the cries from help from the rooftops. and assignments of a once vibrant neighborhood. we now know and we have given so much attention to this already. it is what we could not hear. what for decades had gone unspoken that became the real story of new orleans after katrina. decades of racial and social tensions, of public school systems in decline, people long left behind.

when the levees broke these problems floated to the surface making it impossible for the city to rebound quickly and effectively in the immediate aftermath. but what we know now is this -- storms may be a notable, but crisis is not. not every disruption has to become a disaster. and by building resilience new orleans and other cities can prepare for the next disruption while building a stronger society and a stronger economy at the same time. and when disruption does happen, when misfortune hits as it did theew orleans, cities have opportunity to change, to grow, to transform. this is the essence of resilience building. the results of investment in new orleans are undeniable. where people fled

it is now a city where people are flocking. people returning home, building back their lives, building back their homes, and building a new new orleans based on a wonderful past and a wonderful -- and new people entrepreneurs are coming to the city, helping to creatively and innovatively solve problems. the economy is that diversifying. we are seeing some improve its in the schools for some of the families. and communities more and more are singing off the same song sheet. this is examples of occult resilience dividends. the ideas and when you invest in systems that will help weather the storms, they will pay off in the good times as well. that is exactly what were these is experiencing today. 10 years ago this was not a guarantee. as you know better, some question whether new orleans should even be rebuilt.

for those of you who love this city and indeed anyone who is spent any time here not rebuilding -- not rebuilding was never an option. the question was how to rebuild in a way that would allow the city to bounce forward and not fall back into some of the same old destructive regimes -- routines. that would profoundly change the way we at the rockefeller foundation thought about our work with the city's. when katrina struck i was six months and my presidency. well people told us to just give money and get out. -- days from the day that followed that we had a deeper obligation. responsibility to help. we hadt because koran-making ability but because of our own history. -- grantmaking ability. legacy.

we had half a century or more of experience in the fields of urban planning and community development. and because of our own leadership, darren walker, the president of the ford foundation, was one of managing directors at the time. he had a wonderful and strong background in community and economic development in harlem. i had just left the university of pennsylvania where i had spearheaded our efforts to ,evitalize west philadelphia the community on our doorstep that as many of the same challenges that we received in portland. including poverty, symbol performing schools, low performing schools and high crime rates. my point husband had been the tu law two lane --

schoollane's. it was not long before he had the chance to roll up our sleeves. in early 2006 i got a call from a dear friend walter isaacson who spoke this morning. son of new orleans and on behalf of the louisiana recovery authority. he asked if we could come in and start the planning process which is broken down to the lack of trust and such high levels of frustration and uncertainty. we knew it was not the kind of invitation you turn down. the work became the precursor for the strategy that would define our approach has a foundation for the next decade. by building resilience on the front end, cities will need less emergency aid on the backend. lives and property will be scared -- spared in cities will rebound faster and more effectively. new orleans in some ways was the hotbed, the testbed for all these ideas. it was the springboard for more

than half $1 billion we have invested in resilience-building in cities of all sizes around the world in the last 10 years. it inspired us to create a network to help asian cities repair for climate impacts and gave us the expertise to help new york think it's own resilience after super self and the. sandy.almost a $200 million commitment to help cities globally. new orleans was on the first cities selected to join. it is not just our grantmaking strategy that has changed since katrina. it is our fundamental understanding of what makes this city resilience. resilience cities are aware of their assets and their vulnerabilities. and have diverse capacity they build capacity that is often redundant and the type of

backups and alternatives they can access. if one part of the system goes down, it can rely on another. resilient cities are integrated in the way they share information. the left-hand nose with the right hand is doing and they are working together towards the same goals. they are self-regulating, meaning if one part of the system fails the entity can adjust to prevent catastrophic failure. they are adaptive and flexible. they bend rather than break. what has been so important for cities is not just the conceptual framework for resilience, but the lessons we have learned from the new orleans experience. the first, that resilience is not nearly about how well we respond and react. by then it can be too late. it is about how will we plan and prepare. son we started working with many wonderful people in new orleans through 100 resilient

cities, he one is that many people in the city were suffering from planning fatigue among other things. and although this is not a sickness i hope stress to other cities, we knew what he meant. planning has to be integrated and inclusive. experts, architects, planners, others are at the table. they must be alongside community representatives and civic organizations. it cannot be done from the top

down or outside in. it must be led with deep citizen engagement. in 2006, we gave a $3.5 million grant to the greater new orleans foundation, working with them to steer the process of assembling what became the unified new orleans and. we sought extensive, continuous input from stakeholders across more than 70 communities. we included many of those displaced by the storm, some who participated from remote locations by satellite or the internet. rockefeller and other foundations funded america speaks, which hosted the town halls in new york after 9/11. using very good, well-developed methodologies designed to ensure that every individual was able to express his or her views and discuss those use openly with those who might feel differently. this diversity, degree of participation, and transparency

is heralded as one of the major reasons that it passed in january 2007. the office of recovery management, the downtown development districts, and the new orleans redevelopment authority all used it as the blueprint for the activity, and it served as the basis for the master plan. unop succeeded when other planning efforts have failed because of the inclusive, collaborative process by which it was created. it was called the people's plan, a name that gave us the norm is pride. as jane jacobs said, cities have the ability to provide something for everybody, only because and only when they are created by everybody. that certainly is just as true for planning and the recovery of new orleans. the second lesson we learned is that once a strong plan is in

place, the city must be able to attract back and retain human capital necessary to implement these plans, to invest together in the rebuilding and spark sustained and greater innovation . while citizens were dedicated to the recovery, it would also require more technical expertise and training. so in 2007, we established the fellows program, which recruited ultimately 50 regional and national redevelopment professionals and helped them to be placed in leadership positions throughout new orleans at strategic points during the recovery. fellows were supported with training and coursework at the university of new orleans. matthew moore and is one -- matthew moran is one of those fellows. he is the manager for enterprise homes and public housing redevelopment, the job he was placed into as a fellow.

as some of you know, the lafitte houses were among the bigger public housing development in new orleans devastated by the storm. matt helped support the mission for a one on one replacement of each pre-katrina subsidized apartment to a comparable apartment in the same community. this would be done with the guaranteed opportunity to former lafitte residents to return to the neighborhood. that -- the team helped engage residents in active participation in the redevelopment of these neighborhoods. today, enterprise is two thirds of the way to completing the project. 350 units have been finished, and another 120 are under construction. 95 of the first 134 residents to move back were pre-katrina residents. the others -- any cambria is the

director of finance for the recovery school district, which is rebuilding and upgrading the entire new orleans school system. she has led the creative financing for these upgrades by tapping into federal historic preservation tax credits worth more than $20 million. this kind of credit has traditionally been off-limits to school districts. but through a collaboration between the recovery school district, the orleans parish school board, the city of new orleans, and the industrial development board, it was possible to bring needed resources to reconstruction, and it provided a case study that can be used across the country for how to create innovative financing opportunities. these are just two of the many examples of the fellows who stayed in the city long after their fellowship and it and contribute -- ended, and contributed resiliently to the city's resilient rebirth.

it has inspired a new partnership, just announced last week, between the rockefeller foundation and the obama administration, to launch "resilience americorps," which will train, recruit, and in bed volunteers in -- embed volunteers in 12 cities across the country to develop local resilience strategies. the first 10 where they will be working, including new orleans, were announced last week. we believe this program will create a new generation of leaders, who like the fellows, can unleash a greater movement of urban innovation in building resilience around our country. what these fellas have taught us is our third lesson -- fellows have taught us is our third lesson. you cannot let a crisis go to waste. rather, leverage the recovery process to truly grow and transform. that was the story behind the

revitalization of haley boulevard. once a cultural hub and hub of commerce, by the 1980's the neighborhood was beleaguered and blighted, overrun by crime. while katrina spared the area mostly in 2005, the residents saw the opportunity to leverage the recovery plan to revitalize this historic place. thanks to those investments, today the boulevard is returning to its former glory, but with more modern amenities and more multipurpose spaces, like the newly-restored iconic 1910 ea christie design building, the myrtle banks alimentary school, now a fresh food and community destination, also providing a co-working space for nonprofits, social and creative

entrepreneurs, and an artist exhibition space. we are seeing this resilience mindset changing how the city is thinking about its water challenges. to learn to better live with water while creating new economic opportunities. for example, new orleans' investment of $3.3 billion in new sewage and water infrastructure improvements, one of the largest infrastructure projects in the city's history, will also create thousands of jobs. to start as a pilot, delgado community college has committed to traininr250 workers to fill positions at the sewage and water board, pulling from the rolls of the city's currently unemployed. these are solutions that serve multi-purposes and yield the resilience dividends that i talked about, so that for each dollar invested, there's more than one type of outcome that is contributing to the city.

but no matter how effectively we plan, how effectively we build human capital, how effectively we leverage a crisis to bring about larger improvements, the city's ability to recover holy and meaningfully in the end comes down to social inclusion, community cohesion. from the very beginning, the story of this city's recovery could not be separated from its racial history, and the larger story of race and poverty in our country. from ferguson to baltimore to oakland, we see this playing out over and over again. so the question we must answer is, do all new orleanians feel the recovery is benefiting their lives, their families, their incomes, their communities? is everyone, from treme and the lower ninth to the garden district, benefiting from this rebirth?

can everyone who wants to come back to new orleans find their place? we know that as of now, the answer is no, and it remains a paramount challenge that new orleans faces as it strives to be a model of resilience by 2018. but tomorrow, new orleans will release its newest resilience strategy, and you will see a number of projects dedicated to this very goal. one is the welcome table and initiative, which creates spaces for city leaders to open honest dialogues across the city to engage in real conversation about race and reconciliation. another project is nola for life, which is trying to tackle the issue of murder head-on through preventive strategies, such as connecting youth with meaningful careers and revitalizing neighborhoods. other cities, i believe, can

learn from the city's renewed emphasis on facing squarely its issues around race, inequality, and social cohesion. new orleans can, and is learning from others. they are already working with the resilience officer of medll in, a city that has seen violent crime drop 90%. they are trying to understand what works, and how it could apply to new orleans. being a resilient city doesn't mean a perfect city. it doesn't mean 100% employment or 0% crime rate. it doesn't keep the rain from falling, and doesn't stop the water from coming in. but it means when bad things do happen, and in this century they are most assuredly will, you have the systems and the strategies and the leadership in

place to take in new information, to adapt to changing circumstances, and to work to make sure everyone is working towards a shared outcome. while no one will forget what happened 10 years ago this week, the story that i hope will ultimately be told about new orleans will also be about incredible transformation, and the innovations it continues to unleash, the changes, the deep changes that will inspire in other cities around the world. this is a story that we at the rockefeller foundation are proud to play a part in writing, and we will continue to support this however we can. thank you. [applause] >> this afternoon, we are looking back at the 10 years since hurricane katrina hit the

gulf coast in new orleans. because flooding -- it caused flooding when levees broke, wiping out entire neighborhoods. you can see videos online at www.c-span.org. president obama is touring one of the areas rebuilt in new orleans this afternoon. a bloomberg reporter is tweeting out -- "obama recommends the fried chicken at willie may's w hile meeting with my brother's keeper kids in new orleans." president obama will also visit a newly opened community center in the lower ninth ward. life coverage of his speech begins at 5:00 p.m. eastern. "washington journal" will be live from new orleans, talking with former new orleans mayor mark morial, and an army corps engineer and the editor of the "new orleans times picayune,"

on saturday, the anniversary, we will show you video of the aftermath and the recovery over 10 years. we'll open phone lines to get your calls. " washington journal" starts every morning at 7:00 a.m. eastern on washington journal. this weekend on the c-span network, politics, books, and american history. saturday, hurricane katrina's 10th anniversary with live coverage from new orleans of the public commemoration. speakers include president bill clinton and new orleans mayor mitch landrieu. sunday evening, speeches from democratic candidates hillary clinton and bernie sanders at the democratic national committee summer meeting in minneapolis. on c-span 2, book tv on saturday, an author talks to new york times immigration editor liz robbins about his book "undocumented," tracing his path

from an document -- undocumented immigrant to top of his class at princeton university. and, several programs about katrina and its aftermath, featuring haley barbour and runny green. on american history tv on c-span 3, saturday afternoon, former nasa astronaut don thomas discusses the history of space stations, comparing the developments of russian and american programs since the early 1950's and looking at the future of international space station efforts. sunday, appointment in tokyo. the 1945 u.s. army signal corps fill document -- film documenting the pacific theater, from the japanese invasion of the philippines through the surrender ceremony in 1945. the complete schedule is at www.c-span.org. >> a look now at the impact of hurricane sandy.

in this 20-minute discussion, the news director of new orleans public radio moderates the panel on how to build resilient cities to withstand storms like katrina and sandy. >> we try to do nice things at wwno. i am eve troeh, news director at wwno, the local npr affiliate. sometimes our attention can wane after lunch in new orleans, so it is encouraging to see you all here. we will start with the note on resilient cities. what kind of cities do we want to build? it's interesting that is not what kind of cities we want to rebuild. i enjoyed by two guests who are in some ways on opposite sides of the same coin on that, and in some ways exactly aligned. i have a filmmaker. you might know her work primarily through the "land of

opportunity project." and robin keegan of jcr, director of community resilience. we will start by showing a clip from the katrina-sandy interactive timeline that louisa put together as an extension of the documentary, looking at post-sandy responses and seeing how community concerns were really similar from new orleans post-katrina through post-sandy in new york and new jersey. if you can, take a look at that. >> i was scared to death. i had to go to the seventh floor. all the cars got covered in water. >> hundreds more people are still trapped on roofs. clicks there was grief, but there was also survival. i thought this is what chaos looked like. >> we moved down here in 1973,

and i never saw anything like this in all these years. >> why are they doing nothing, and we're having to stay in these trailers? let us go ahead and go. >> we are not asking for any handouts, but i know there was money put aside for this. we just one what we need to get back to where -- want what we need to get back to where we were. ♪ >> great, thanks. you can see more videos at the website. click around and explore some similarities in the narratives collected after sandy and after katrina. the interesting thing about that clip, you see a mixup of new orleans and the east coast communities. you can't always tell who is saying what about where. you can interchange the

voiceovers with those images you are seeing. that is an intentional thing you have done with the filmmaking. tell us more about that approach. >> one of the reasons we started the land of opportunity project, it was deeply steeped in post-katrina rebuilding, a documentary that became an interactive platform that looks at post-crisis community rebuilding in five cities across the u.s. as soon a sandy happened, i started collaborating with a participatory documentary project called sandy storyline in new york, because we recognize there was a real value to comparing and contrasting these stories and cleaning the lessons learned. because there is an allergy to connecting the dots in this country, to a certain extent. that led to a real exceptionalism, new orleans exceptionalism. this happened over there, those crazy people who live below the sea level, and could never happen to us.

then it happens in the heart of global capitalism, essentially, it becomes a different conversation. so a lot the work we have been doing is really looking at how we not keep reinventing the wheel, acting like these are sui generis events that happen, and how are communities being impacted? who is regarding how, and at what pace? we are on two different sides of the same thing. looking in new orleans. we also used to work in the state of louisiana post-katrina. one thing we were able to do is take the recovery lesson here that we have all learned and really bring it to other communities. one of the things we were able to do was work with the state of new jersey, the city of new york, and the state of new york to transfer lessons learned and

help them to learn the intricacies and the challenges of working with federal recovery dollars, working quickly, but making good decisions. what we have seen is that there are a lot of similarities in major recoveries. one, the toolkit still has some gaps. after katrina, we didn't have a roadmap, and we built from there. we also had the unfortunate events of the oil spill to really refine the tools, and we were able to take those forward to new york to help them hopefully begin to step through this. however, it's a challenging and deeply-involved process, as everyone knows. it is quite a challenge to do this faster and better, and smarter. >> for both of you, i would like to talk about how the communities themselves see themselves as united by their

risk and by their experience in disasters that have happened, or their risk for future disasters happening. do people along the gulf coast see themselves as connected to people who were afflicted by sandy? how does that manifests itself in the

>> it is low hanging fruit to be critical of the disaster response industry and to highlight the irony that there is profit to be made in disaster. at the same time, these are hugely important contracts, hugely important projects that need to be accomplished, both to respond and to recover and rebuild. how do you get your head around the understanding of that, that this is an industry that is going to be developing and even growing as we face further challenges of climate >>, maura roddick whether around the country and around the world? how do we understand this is a huge opportunity, as the name of your project suggests, and, some of the most vulnerable people, going through the most difficult

times? >> one thing i mentioned earlier, the reality is that we are still working on this toolkit and trying to fill in gaps. having a group of people who have done this in the past, who can walk in the door prepared -- every situation is different. having to be really open and honest, and learn from the communities we are in, is not going to look exactly like it did here, although a lot of it is similar. we had a lot of our clients tell us, ok, but we are not new orleans. we are our own place, we want to be our own place, and we have a responsibility, even though it is a private structure, we have the responsibility to help those communities with the skills and toolkits that we have. >> to continue, what fools are in that toolkit? what do you mean when you use that term? >> sure. in terms of moving, response and recovery needs to happen very quickly, but in communities that

have fallen on their knees, just looking at themselves, there is a real need for planning, as was talked about earlier. many of the people in this room participated in it, being able to plan and recover at the same time, being able to look forward, but also be able to give people the resources they need to rebuild immediately, the resources they need to think about their immediate future and make plans for their communities and their families, and their immediate lives. >> back to the question on the opportunity side of things. >> i look at things from the storytelling side of things. something i'm feeling, again, i address it many times today, i'm feeling very much that kind of crushing weight of the need to create kind of a unified narrative of recovery that is either purely positive or purely

negative, and that really emphasizes the unified pace of recovery. the reality has been pointed out very starkly today, people recover very differently, and that is a different timeframe for different people. this notion of opportunity is woven into that, i think. the idea that disruption and transformation create opportunity for >>. the question is, who's -- create opportunity for changes. the question is, who is driving that forward? the question is who, how people are relating to that notion of opportunity. in many cases, in communities for whom katrina is an ongoing reality, an ongoing disaster, the opportunities for organizing and community resistance and coming together and challenging the dominant narrative, challenging the way that things

are being done, have been really important. in many ways, i think people would say the organizing landscape that existed in new orleans before katrina was extremely robust and was decimated by katrina, struggling to get back to pre-katrina levels. at the same time, there is an extraordinary amount of engagement and grassroots organizing. in new york, looking at what occupy sandy has been doing, a lot of the groups working together to keep the story of post-sandy rebuilding even on the radar, because for many it is a different story, not sort of falling off that unified narrative radar. >> what has occupy sandy been doing? >> they are working with a lot of the folks still trying to get back on their feet. especially some residents, inbred, for example, who -- residence, in red hook, for

example, who are thinking about resilience from a grassroots organizing level. >> i would like to ask the crowd, how many people here are new yorkers or new jersey residents, reformer -- or former new yorkers or new jersey residents? a surprising amount. some of the story has been more interplay between the community and new orleans. more people moving back-and-forth, settling, resettling, returning to new orleans if they are from here, maybe they spent some time up there. that is a natural relationship, separate from these disasters that in some way growing because of it. >> an interesting point on that, i was at new york at the time of 9/11, and also at the time of katrina i was, and i returned after katrina. a lot of people from here, from new york, helped in the 9/11 recovery and came to new orleans

and the state to bring us those resources and that knowledge. in effect, the work i'm doing any work my colleagues are doing has really been bringing that back to sandy. it's a different type of disaster, a different lesson that needs to be learned. it is an interesting exchange, i think you are right. it has been going on for a long time. >> week just have a few -- we just have a few minutes left. if you take audience questions, we have some of them ready. >> i just have a couple questions. what lessons learned did you guys have that you were able to take in new york and new jersey, cultural sensitivity and how recovery affected non-homeowner families? that seems to be a great piece of the equation that was badly lost here. >> i think that one of the things that is continually important, and these are really having the opportunity to speak with the community, be part of the communities, and have them

engage in planning. one thing that new york state did, they started a community construction program, and that was able to work in communities throughout the state that had been impacted. allowing multiple voices to come, multiple people to come and be part of the community's rebuilding. that was something that was taken in large part from the planning efforts across the state of louisiana, multiple planning processes here in new orleans. that is one of the most important things, to keep the dialogue open and keep all people as part of the conversation, so that the opportunity developed is really for everyone. >> another question? >> keith, from new orleans. not necessarily related to sandy, but a little bit before that with the cedar rapids, iowa flooding. i distinctly remember, and a lot of people here recall the same thing. after cedar rapids, in 2008

there were a lot of boisterous claims coming out of iowa that we are picking ourselves up by our own bootstraps, not waiting for federal help, and we can do this recovery thing ourselves. my hunch, though, is that there's a lot of federal help that went into cedar rapids, probably per capita as much federal help that went to help the folks throughout iowa and the many counties that flooded, and i just wanted to see if you all had some insights into the myth versus the reality, because again, when people started calling it cedar rapids katrina, iowa's katrina, there seems to be a real reluctance of folks in iowa to want to have anything to do with being put in the same kind of boat as us in new orleans. i'm not sure if much of that happened after sandy in new

jersey, less so, but that kind of perspective thing, if you can share some insight into that, it would be appreciated. thanks. >> i think one of the lessons from recovery is to recognize that there are multiple partners and recovery, multiple resources that are needed, and the federal government plays a huge role in immediate response response andy response, and they have been working really hard to make sure that they are always tweaking that model so that when they are moving forward with communities they are helping, it is a huge role. for communities to say that they are working and pulling themselves up from their bootstraps, they absolutely are, because they are the ones that are making the decisions, and they are the ones that are doing the work. however, the need is greater than it really -- really anyone resource could manage. the federal government, the community, the civic community, the private community, as well as the residence within those

communities, are all actors and all partners. >> the reluctance of committees to identify with katrina? >> that goes back to the narrative and portrayal of new orleans and new orleanians post-decree to as refugees, victims, people who stayed in some form or fashion, deserving what happened to them. there was a real negative story constructed around what happened here, which really creates kind of a distance. the project -- the idea that these things will be happening to us in our backyards, and the more we create a distance and the inability to recognize ourselves in these communities, the more detrimental it is to actually really not continuously repeat any of it. >> one of the key elements for communities, there are so many great efforts, like the rockefeller resilience efforts,

to really help communities plan now and not wait until this happens. because it is coming, sadly, too communities, or it will come again. this is the opportunity. i need to be federal resources, as well as local resources really focused on, what is that plan going to be, what kind of city do we want to be, what kind of city are we, and what do we want to be if this were to happen to us? that's really important. >> a filmmaker with land of opportunity interactive, thank you so much. [applause] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2015] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] ♪ >> president obama is in new orleans this afternoon, marking the storm's 10th anniversary. shhe has been walking door-to-door in neighborhoods. he has been in treme.

he will also deliver remarks at a community center in the lower ninth ward, and the president will talk about the impact of climate changes on worsening storms. the president' is remarks begin at 5:30 p.m. eastern on c-span. "washington journal" will be live from new orleans tomorrow and saturday. we talked to the former new orleans edi mayor, and an army corps of engineers official. we will show you video of the hurricane aftermath and the resulting recovery over 10 years. we will take your phone calls. see "washington journal" every morning at 7:00 eastern on c-span. saturday afternoon, new orleans will hold a commemoration marking the 10th anniversary. live coverage at 6:00 eastern. among those taking part, president bill clinton, members of congress, and mayor mitch

landrieu. now, a panel discussion on designing better infrastructure systems that can withstand current category three hurricane's like hurricane katrina. speakers include the u.s. army corps of engineers task force and the times picayune environmental reporter. it is about 20 minutes.it is ab.

homeland security. she also is a champion, a champion bodybuilder. she was deployed and stationed in iraq when katrina hit, and has interesting insights into that. also, a pulitzer prize-winning environmental correspondent for nola.com and the times-picayune. it is great to be with both of you. part of the conversation happening in the media and here is around the subject of infrastructure failures that happened when katrina came through 10 years ago. we were saying in the green room, you have been listening all day and nobody has gotten it just right in terms of talking

about, giving us a snapshot of what infrastructures are in place today, what you built. can you give us that snapshot? >> good afternoon. it has been a good day, to listen to the different perspectives. i have to mention, the incredible, bright young people that have been on stage several times today. i can't say enough about them. [applause] several things. we were able to put a system in place after katrina that is to be built for a 1% chance of a hurricane storm surge every year. every year, you have a 1% chance of a storm surge from a hurricane. but when we went about the system, we also had, i call it the fortune two be able to define new modeling techniques . instead of the storm that could

happen, we used 152 past storms and potential storms, with 150 tracks, anywhere from a 25-year to a seven-year rate of return. we were able to build additional risk and uncertainty into the system. the system we have in place is far more robust than what the standard, industry standard of that 100-year 1% chance is. the other thing we did is we predicted for 50 years, not enough for climate changes in sea level rise, but especially for subsidence. the amount of subsidence happening along the entire state of louisiana since 1932 is far more important as a factor than sea level rises. we were able to project what conditions we could expect, 50 years with all those uncertainties.

a system that really is resilient for a storm, katrina or bigger. when it comes in, you have to have a surge from 25 to 30 feet for the system in place. it went over the top of all of it. you have some interior flooding, but that's what the interior drainage and the pump stations are for, to take the water out. the system will stay there. that's what we designed for. >> i guess before i jump the mark, because i will ask you the same question, is that enough? when you read the media here, the fragility, the nervousness that you still feel when people talk about katrina and talk about the future, there is a sense it is not enough. >> to really have enough, there is no such thing as no risk with hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, wildfire.

you can never totally reduce the risk, and when i hear that isn't enough, it is a question of how much you want to reduce risk as much as possible. there is the structural, but the army corps has done, the nonstructural, reducing energy with environmental features, and then what businesses can do. how much room you can have between the property and the coastline. listening to evacuation orders. put all that together, that's the best way to reduce risk. you won't reduce it to nothing, but you will mitigate what could have happened if you have not done all of that. >> is it enough? >> no. let me start by saying, whenever anybody asks me about that, i start at the point where i call it the devil's bargain

occurring, immediately after katrina. a decision was made that the city of new orleans would be rebuilt. to be rebuilt, you had to guarantee people would live here, and that meant you had to have flood insurance. to get flood insurance, the congress has saet the 1% limit based on actuarial things, 50-60 years old, way out of date. everybody says that. the national academy of sciences has said it is outdated in about five studies this year. so you have this 1% standard for how high things should be, and that's not enough. to everybody's benefit, the corps went further than that, and made sure not only was this new height much better than what it was before, and you can see that out to the east, where the levees were supposed to be 17.5

feet before katrina and were only 15 feet, but today they are 32 feet above sea level, twice as high. that's wonderful, that's great. the more important thing is that they have added resiliency to protect us from a 500-year event, an event that is a bit more than katrina. resiliency means the levees will still be there when the storm passes by, which means you have reduced flooding she is talking about. but there are other events out there that are going to occur in the future. it could be 100 year or 5000 year event that could cause overtopping and disrupt the city. the other thing people need to recognize -- you heard earlier today, the mayor talked about category three, category five. forget it. don't talk category. that is when the strength, and that is not our problem -- wind strength, and that is not our problem. the problem is water. >> the mayor was completely wrong? >> yes. why i say that was you can have

category two or even a smaller storm in terms of linseed that has ace -- wind speed that has a storm surge that will overtop the levees. >> it's not often that i agree with mark. [laughter] in this case, i agree with mark. it is not the category, which is wind speed. it is the amount of search. we had wildly different surges. 3one, half as much, one, more s. isaac in 2012, a category 2 at best, it was a big storm. it was a big rain event, something else katrina didn't have. but the surges it brought in, 12 to 15 feet. >> when you measure the 1%, all this historical data, you expanded it. you have violent storms on top of this. are you not countering, figuring

in what mark laid out, smaller storms with higher surges? >> we were. the 1% is an insurance standard. the national flood insurance standard is based on the so-called 100 year, which in different places of the country means different things. we designed for, because we were able to do so, we took 152 storms, from 25 years to 5000 year rate of return, took the effects of those storms across a physical footprint -- i am an engineer, i try not to sound like a nerd -- but we generated 62,000 hydrographs and added risk on top of that. that is far and above what a so-called 100 year system would be, but that's not the case if you look at different parts of the country. i was taken by administrator fugate's discussion earlier today, naming several cities he

saw as being more vulnerable. >> nor folk. >> nor folk is one of them. after hurricane sandy -- i can talk a lot about that. earlier this year, we were able to publish the north atlantic coach copperheads of study. congress appropriated $20 million for us to do a vulnerability study. we set a risk for framework communities could look at. what are the different actions people can do to reduce risk? we saw several cities that are vulnerable. norfolk is one of them. washington, d.c. we have new studies to improve things in those cities. craig mentioned several others that don't have the ability to evacuate in new orleans, that certainly don't have perimeter protection. >> mark, you wrote and reported through the entire storm. you lost your home, basically, in the process of doing this,

and i went back to read a great deal of your writing. there is an emotional element in your writing about these issues. you are not easily deluded by numbers or commitments from the army corps of engineers, and others. what would it take for you to feel confident in the future for new orleanians who have been here a long time, to feel confident at what they are hearing at gatherings like this about what fema is doing, what the army corps of engineers is doing? i don't believe you have that confidence. >> i do, but you have to, you have to understand the risk that you are facing. then, make a decision as to whether or not that risk is what you want to live with. i made that decision. i have seen this levee system, and it is amazing. the things that these guys have done to rebuild the system, they have completely redone the way

that you remake water structures in the world. not just in the united states. those lessons are huge. that is great. we still have risk here, and that risk will be increasing in the future, because sea level rising, because of the increase and strength of hurricanes, not the number of hurricanes, but the increase and strength of hurricanes, and the additional factors of what kinds of rainfall we will get upriver from new orleans. this year, the river today is at eight feet. if we have katrina today, you have water probably going over the top of the river levees into the city, possibly. two weeks ago, you would definitely have a heck of a lot of water going into the city. those additional risks, we have to understand and deal with them. the corps has been dealing with them by raising river levees as well, and recognizing that in the future you have got to do that.

the other problem, though, is the corps of engineers feels projects, we all do, on a 20-year or 50-year time frame. the new levies are built on the 50-year timeframe, and we are already eight or 10 years into the 50 years. 2057 is the end of that period. we need to look forward and make sure that we are ready and have money to raise those levees as they need to be raised. the localities are already doing that in advance by in some cases before the last armoring is occurring, adding to the height of the levees before that additional fabric is put down on the levees so that they can get a couple extra years out before they have to spend a heck of a lot more money. those are issues we all have to face, just like we all have to face the issue of recognizing that even with this system, this system is built to protect our

property, not our lives, and we have to leave when people tell us it is time to leave. >> you have a good system to leave? >> one of the benefits of pre-katrina and katrina has been that our evacuation system has been dramatically improved. ironically, one of the things people lose in this whole issue about katrina is th that it was the most successful evacuation in the history of the united states. 1.2 million people in metropolitan new orleans left in advance of the storm. it wasn't enough. major failures were made in terms of getting people out who didn't have transportation. those issues seems to have been solved under the present government structure we have today. one thing that a lot of people forget is that every four years, we chained governments. that can > change.

that can >> of the state level and governor, who can make decisions about what they will fund in the future. it can happen at the national level in terms of changes in where money needs to replace. >> we don't have enough time to go into it, but you mentioned things about air-conditioned buses that will move animals out of animal shelters. >> air-conditioned 18 wheelers. >> mark mentioned money. are you resourced, is the corps resourced? >> we never have the resources for what we would like to do. infrastructure is a national investment. for years, this nation was ahead of many others. but most of our infrastructure is old. the average age is over 50 years old. so we go to other countries and do technical exchanges with other countries.

other countries are looking at us, the past example of how we used to invest in water resources and infrastructure. it is part of our national security and economy. if i look at it that way, i know we are not resourced to do what we need to do. how we are resourced to respond, absolutely. one thing that has totally changes the way we get our team that ahead of time. we anticipate river flooding or hurricanes and we get teams and equipment, temporary power, working with fema, generators, everything we can think of. we get our people as close as possible so that as soon as the storm has passed, our team is right there on the ground. that is a matter of practice. that doesn't matter what administration is in place. we have technical team members assigned to all these different things. the commitment is, we tell them, we need you to go.

you have a few hours to leave, and that's where we need you to go. there was a typhoon that just hit saipan, and we had a team ahead of their on the ground. we have teams in hawaii. tropical storm danny, not hurricane danny, we had teams on notice and we don't have to send them, because it will bring rain, which puerto rico needs. these different things where the federal response can help local responses in anticipating, getting people and equipment and supplies out early, that is a matter of practice now. i don't anticipate that changing, regardless. >> i would like a couple quick questions. we have one over there. do you think, how do i frame this without getting a lot of trouble, i think the country and its eyes and all are on louisiana and new orleans this week. and i think it is an opportunity to learn. are there things that louisiana

has put in place in terms of disaster response, in terms of these models the rest of the country can actually learn from? anything louisiana is now the leader in? >> aside from having this incredible risk-based system here, it's a lot more than that. one of the things louisiana has done at the state level for emergency preparedness is having a big network of businesses who we can reach out to for different supplies, generators, food supplies. saying, i need you to bring these materials. it is in place ahead of time. i am pleased to see the way louisiana has progressed in appropriations. another thing louisiana has done, starting with hurricane gustav -- it is one thing for

fema to bring in generators, and the army corps is part of that, to give hospitals power. another thing for the state to say, we need pharmacies to be up and running so people can get medical supplies. to have generators, so people can get back as quickly as possible. those are examplesthose are exat louisiana has done. >> one of the key things louisiana did, it set up regional levy authorities, allegedly removed some of the politics from the people who participated in those authorities and insured that they were required to be people who knew what they were talking about, engineers and scientistss.

one thing that continues to be missing is recognition of the public of what kinds of risk are out there, as shown by st. bernard parish twice turning down a new tax to pay for the upkeep of the brand new levy system. >> i am marcus smith. i am just a resilient citizen [laughter] although i was more resilient 10 years ago. i am in my late 70's. >> you are looking good. >> thank you. the options -- that's another conversation. mark, you are the first person, i think, to mention climate >> looking forward -- climate change looking forward. what can you tell us in a short form about how that is going to affect our plans and preparations, and the long-term viability of new orleans as a city?

>> the good, the first, early good part of that is that in this new levy system for new orleans, climate change was taken into account. there were last-minute changes that were made, some designs to increase the concern about climate change, so they are better than they would have been. but it's not enough. one of the concerns, even though the more conservative -- they use more conservative climate change estimates, they are already outdated. there are new studies this year that indicate the sea level rise will be much higher than what we have been counting on, and we are going to have to look at how to improve, increase the height of these structures, hard structures that will be overtopped before the 2057 end of their life in some cases if the climate >> >> estimates are

correct. >> reaction? >> first, you can never depend only on a structure. we talk about multiple lines of defense. the second thing, everyone talks about sea level rise. in this area, a far more important factor is subsidence. the rate of subsidence is 15 times more than sea level rise based on our projections, so we are a lot more worried about that. the system is adaptable. the big wall at the navigation canal, for example. but that might not be the best thing to do. you have to look at the other things you can put together to try to address it. >> we have to close out, but i want to just note that you told me that in an odd way the bp disaster is helping provide

resources that help on some of this with coastal restoration, and it was a very provocative comments. why did the disaster inadvertently help ♪ announcer: president obama's

visit to new orleans continues this afternoon. these are pictures tweeted out by "buzzfeed." president obama going to stop by a newly opened community center there and talk about climate change. the president partial speech begins at 5:00 p.m. eastern here on c-span. "the washington journal" will be live from c-span and talk to the new orleans mayor. saturday, it is the actual anniversary of the storm and you can see video of the hurricane's aftermath and the recovery over the past 10 years. we will also open the phone lines to get your reaction. this weekend on the c-span networks, politics, books, and american history, on c-span saturday, at 6:00 p.m. eastern.

and we have live coverage from new orleans with a public commemoration of the hurricane katrina event. president obama joins her -- joins governor landrieu. we also cover bernie sanders at the democratic national meeting in minneapolis. and we trace the journey of an undocumented immigrant to his rise to a yale graduate. and we have several programs about hurricane katrina and its aftermath. on american history tv on c-span3, that is saturday afternoon. former nasa astronaut don thomas discusses the history of space

station and compares the difference between russian and american programs since the 1950's and looking at the future of the international space station efforts. and "appointment in tokyo," is a 1945 film regarding the japanese death march to the -- get our complete central -- complete schedule at c-span.org. president obama will be talking about the impact of climate change and the discussion of stronger storms and higher water. coming up next, and jeffrey goldberg interviews architects on the way cities like new orleans can manage surrounding water. this is about 20 minutes. >> hi, good afternoon. we are going to jump right into a conversation about water and

luckily we have the water guru with us, david wegner. most people here know him, probably know him well, so i don't need to introduce very much. why don't we just go right at an issue or a subject that you have been dealing with and talking about with the city for many years now. the way in which the netherlands, the way in which amsterdam and the netherlands has managed to live with water and the way in which you can contrast that with the way in which new orleans has lived with or not has lit -- or not have lived with water. during the next minute or two, explain to us what they had done right. if new orleans had done what the

dutch had done, would katrina had happened in the same way? it is a pretty big question and go with it where you will. david: i would have gone with the river, if you want to talk about what the dutch would have done. they look at it as a national priority and not just a local priority. jeffery: why has it always been a national priority in the netherlands as opposed to localized, seemingly localized problems here? david: well half of this country is below sea level, but as this system developed, not in the beginning, but plenty have said it is not clear whether this is a land or water, so he had a lot of farmers living out in the landscape where there was water and mud and they all worked together. the foundation of their society was working together. you take my money and i will

take your money and together, we will invest -- jeffery: and that was literally 800 years ago? david: that was about 800 years ago, as a country and as an organization, they were really organizing themselves about this they would have -- this, they would have waterboards. it was essential and having investment. the dutch got really good in making investments in the last century. the idea of spending money as an investment in spending money as an outflow and putting it out there so it comes back to them. but we haven't been exactly like that. we have wealth that has been extracted more than reinvested. jeffery: can you give me one example that the dutch have done , like in rotterdam, for example, that hasn't been done here? can you discuss what would have been different 10 years ago? david: 10 years ago, that is a

little bit of a quandary. the safety is much better and the idea of the strategy is much better. they never planned a city without water. water was always inside and fundamental to the plan. every time i got far away from that, everybody got sick and the whole system started to fall apart. in 1850, in rotterdam, there was a brilliant plan by an architect and the used that as a reference. the highest real estate is where that was. and a 17th century in amsterdam they built a canal -- and in the 17th century in amsterdam, they build a canal and they saw that if you add water, you get money. right -- jeffery: right, you add water, you get money. and i say this as an outsider,

but one of the things that you notice is that there is a very narrow piece of land surrounded i a very large river and a very large lake, but you can walk four blocks and blocks and blocks in the city and never see natural water. and i have a very simple question to ask you, which is when you are on canal street, there was supposed to be a canal on canal street. why isn't there a canal on canal street? why aren't there canals of this sort that you see in amsterdam and what would be the benefit of having them? david: well, i mean, this land is very weak. it is new land. it is only 100,000 years old, it is not like connecticut where it is built around rock. the leeway you can get a good taste of that is a mix of land and water. -- the only way you can get a good taste of that is to get a good mix of land and water.

sand is a good strata here. but you are not supposed to build on sand. your house is built on sand and that is the best we have got. so you have to take better care of weeks will -- weak soil. i am told that only 2% of cities on earth are built on this kind of soil. we are strong as a cultural city. canal street became about the difference between two or warring factions, the french and spanish, and it was like a dividing line. i mean, water could divide, too. but water was more evident in the landscape here. if you went out to the canal here, you could actually go and look into the water there. it got closed off more and more and it became more evident.

the other thing that i think that you have to observe in new orleans is that the technology was very strong. in 1920, a pump was patented and it was the most powerful pump in the world. that pump trained the land and allowed us to move a below sea level. that pump pumped into the middle of the city and pump the water all the way out. that is an unusual aspect of having these pumping stations and not on the edge. they're going to be at the edge at the end of this project. we had disease, we had a sewer system mixed with drinking water, so you are trying to get rid of all of that water. but we didn't pay attention. it is fine for me to say that we had an invention here in 1920. we were over reliant on it. but you should check back over the next 85 years. you should check over the of x -- over the effects.

ambient temperature was rising because of the training system, so there was some checkbox. a very good friend of mine was criticizing the engineer, and many in the audience will in the me for this, but he said it was the engineer's fault. i heard the news last week where researchers said that they are going to fight cancer. well here, we are going to fight to the water. that is kind of the engineering paradigm, it overwhelms of the landscape and it overwhelms the nature. jeffery: why for so many years was water treated as the enemy, and let me out onto that and you can add these two related questions at once, what do you sense over the last couple of years a shift years a shift in the political culture around the subject? rp will beginning to say to

themselves, you know, we have to live, we have to live with this water because we cannot push it away? david: common sense would say that we are not -- we are slow. i think we are catching on. we need more water in our landscape. it is going to have some benefits. it will have economic benefits. but it will have resilient benefits. we'll have more space for the water in our discussions that occurs about a 100 year levee. i noticed some people are talking about getting water in the inside. but flooding is not something that you want. the idea is to create more safety, not less. but over the decades, you know, people in new orleans lives inside the city, living inside the wall, living against nature. that wasn't good. people didn't learn to swim.

a lot of are reasons -- a lot of the reasons that people were afraid of swimming was because of that. jeffery: is that a reason for all of this? david: it could be a threat today. if it was really cloudy out there, we would all be thinking -- jeffery: but when it is controlled, it is not -- david: i mean, the discussion about water in the world and in the united states is changing quickly, right? but people don't differentiate sources of flooding. in jakarta, letting is titled -- title waves, it is not storm surge. which do you have? we kind of have most of it. we have a really tough storm surges to fight. we also have heavy rainfall. so we're trying to push this out and try to throw this away and meanwhile, we have forgotten the groundwater and that allowed us to kind of float like this little leaf on this week's

strata -- on this weak strata. jeffery: really quickly, how far do you think new orleans has come since katrina and how part you think it will go? so you are king of new orleans, imagine. telling what you would do. tell me what you would do that hasn't been done yet. david: other people have that name. i am not king and i don't want to be. i think we fight over a lot in this culture on the sun king and authority on high. this is a citizen landscape issue. so we really have to -- it is really going to be a matter about -- well, it is a matter of how much time we get, because another horrible disaster, i don't expect the same response from the nation or the world. so we don't want that. we have to adapt more quickly. put time on it, we said a 50

year plan, but i think that is far too slow. that really needs to be the length of time to make those investments. can you do it in 10 years? i think any number above nine is not really a good number. can we do it by 2024? i doubt it. but you know, jakarta is in that situation again. we have learned from that a lot. they have to build a much bigger structure and they don't have the money in that society that we have in hours. so -- in ours. so it is really about what we expect in ourselves and what we expect in each other. but i'll take that makes sense with the religion that i was raised with. jeffery: right, right, we are going to go to q&a and have a few questions. it wrought out for the audience -- but draw out for the audience, and you don't want to

be king -- and he really doesn't, the kind of person that wants to be king, that is not the kind of guy you want for the job. it takes us to a couple of locations around new orleans. tell the audience how you would redesign it, if you could, that would allow the city to live with the water. and actually, turn it into an aesthetic benefit. david: well, it is a retrofit. it is a landscape repair that we have. the canals, you know, the corp is building this flood system of the perimeter which allows us to modify the canals. those are ravenous structures at the wall, they were part of a hurricane defense system. in all observable truth, i would be happy to go in show you, it is really the green berm that

you need a not the walls on top. those are miles and miles of waterfront property that does not have a flood defense system. the real estate value of the city is getting some attention. this is now that we actually have 40% increase in the last 10 years and that is actually higher than the national norm. but look at the real estate values over by st. john, you can have water in all sorts of places that we need to have water and more safety and we want to limit the subsidence. so look everywhere. look at your own street. look at the ground on your street and look how much it has been built up and do the observable truth in your world around the city. almost everywhere, you can do that. the big moves that are on the canals, there are some opportunities in chantilly that are of larger scale, 25 acre sized scales, but one of the

things that we principally learned as architects is that you have to be able to work at all scales. so it is really back to the motif, and it is really about what you have in your own world. i am trying to get my mind around a really productive landscape around here. this is not a garden. this is not a place of escape. we have to work and play and live and have a relationship with our landscape. it is not like a pretty garden that i go into. this is actually fundamental to where we live. so we have to make our landscape work for us in another way. that is a reality for us. jeffery: if there are questions, put your hand up and i will call and 70 -- and i would love to: somebody -- to call on somebody.

>> hi, my name is al reece, and i am a survivor of the storm. i have written a book about survival. i am a native new orleans, but i haven't lived in the city for several years. i was on the north shore when katrina hit and i was flooded out. but i am also an amateur historian and have done research on the city. the city was basically surrounded by water, which we know, but there were other bios -- bayous throughout the area. two bayous actually merged into the bayou of st. john. as a child growing up in the city, ira member the fight for dry land. there were open ditches in the city at that time and they were gradually filled in and covered up.

and i can remember that i used to do a lot of walking on the levees at that time, and we talk -- we talking about the 50's in the 60's, and they gradually got higher and higher and higher, so you couldn't see the water anymore from the streets. and of course, walking on the talk of -- top of those levies, you are above the roof lines of all the houses. my question is this since that i basically was a north shore resident. is it not a fact that if you put lock systems over the london avenue canal in new orleans -- and the new orleans avenue canal and the 7th street canal, the water that, for instance, that is brought in on a hurricane surge, it has to go somewhere. the people's -- people in the communities of covington, mandel

, all of those people are wondering where exactly that water goes. although they know in their hearts that it is going to go to them. it will increase the level of floodwaters in those areas. is it a fact or is it not? that is my question. david: i think i understand the question. it is about the rebound factor from one side to the other. the core is building. -- the corp is building closing structures on the sides of these canals. all of the water across the lake, i doubt that would actually be the case, but i was

told that by the time the water got back up and it came to those neighborhoods, it would draw the water backup. so i don't think he rebound across one side did the other would be that effect. if you look at the dialogues, dutch -- if you look at the dutch dialogues, everybody is concentrating on the levee, but the third line is really inside the levee and sure enough, the drawing shows up were somebody drew an island in the lake as a defense structure for the levee. so you can add islands to break the storm surges. you can do things on the north shore that would certainly mitigate or dampen anything that what happened to this flood defense system. so i don't think the protection of the north shore is going to flood the south shore if you understand where i am going with that. i think the science on that would prove it.

but i am not a scientist. jeffery: we are very vigilant, fortunately, but i just want to close, again with the question that the thing that really plagues me about the people of new orleans, and if, god forbid, a storm analogous to katrina would hit next week, how well with the city do? david: well -- a speculation on our future. [laughter] david: immediate future, though. -- jeffery: immediate future, though. david: when i was a kid, my friend said that we have an isaac defense system. levees require reinvestment. it is not a free system. you have to put money back into it, you are going to have to operate it and maintain it and raise it, and a parish locally

voted against it, and if you think we are going to live here without maintaining the levees, i am not sure. the question is, are we going to have the resources to continue to invest in these levees as the sea level rises. are we going to become a more attractive city so that more people want to live here when this at risk situation happens? do you want to live in a place where we have to make it more beautiful. why do you like it? is it a beautiful city? kind of. how do you get your children to come and live with us in this really interesting city. most american cities are not as interesting. [laughter] jeffery: well that's true. [applause] david: i am saying it's got to be safer, right? but police only safety is that we are working together.

-- but the only thing that the safety is when we are working together. jeffery: this is a natural -- national treasure, but you are getting there. are you confident you are going to get there? david: we have to do our work, you know? we are a work in progress. jeffery: thank you very much. we appreciate it. thank you very much. [applause] ♪ announcer: president obama is in new orleans this afternoon marking the storm's 10th anniversary. later today, he will also deliver remarks in a local community center in the ninth award. the president will also talk about impacts of climate change and worsening storms. we will have live coverage of the president's speech at 5:00

p.m. eastern. also, tomorrow we will talk to former new orleans mayor mark morreale, and the editor of the "new orleans times picayune," and we will also feature video of the hurricane aftermath at its recovery in the last 10 years. "washington journal," every morning at 7:00 a.m. eastern. this weekend on the c-span's networks, politics, books, and american history. this saturday, hurricane katrina and the 10th anniversary. speakers include president bill clinton and mary landrieu. and speeches from democratic candidates hillary clinton and bernie sanders at the democratic national committee summer meeting in indianapolis -- in

minneapolis. and afterwards, author dan-el pa dilla peralta talks about his book "undocumented." if all is his journey as an undocumented immigrant to the top of his class and ideally. several programs follow about the storm hurricane katrina and its aftermath. on american history tv on c-span3, saturday afternoon, a few minutes past 2:00 p.m., former nasa after not don thomas discusses the history of the u.s. space station, and discusses the difference between american and russian space programs. and sunday at 4:00 p.m. on " reel america," is the program "appointment in tokyo,"

discussing the history of the end of world war ii in 1945. get our complete schedule at c-span.org. announcer: the atlantic coast -- "the atlantic" magazine has a panel discussion with representatives and organizations that have been working on rebuilding neighborhoods and the people in new orleans. ♪ >> hi, everybody. we decided that the day had gone on too long without a drinking game. so we have decided -- oh, sarah is still here, hi, sarah --so any time that we mention certain

word, somebody is going to take a swig. don't be shy. [laughter] >> so. [laughter] >> so, here we are. we are going to talk about a resilient nation strengthening our place and we got a wonderful panel here. lauren alexander augustine is the head of the program for the national academy of sciences and -- >> resilience. [laughter] >> this is definitely not going to be enough. [laughter] >> and you are off this week to zurich to talk to zurichians to talk about the subject. >> i am. >> i need to slow down a little bit on this subject. and we have the director of the metropolitan housing and

community center at the urban institute, he is a fantastic guy. if you are a real walk in the weeds of this subject, he is a real pleasure to read. and we have that grows in bird who is the head of the st. bernard project. but i think -- so be prepared -- resilience in a way is such -- [laughter] >> such a broad term. it could mean weathering the immediate crisis or coming back in recovering, adept in morning, but with all due respect to our topic of the day, it is also beginning to feel a bit religious to me. it is sort of everything, everywhere, sort of defining anything, any city that is new and modern can be put under that wing of resilience and -- [laughter] >> and i'm interested if it is anywhere, is it really anywhere? so i what you to help distill for us what the "r"