Ivanna C. Sukkar

As published in Scotsman Guide's Residential Edition, August 2006.

For residents of the Big Easy, life has been difficult in the year since Hurricane Katrina hit.

The city of New Orleans lost more than half its residents; the metropolitan area lost more than one-quarter. Many evacuated to Houston or Baton Rouge, La., and have yet to return.

Those returning or watching the city's redevelopment, however, see a different city taking shape.

Its demographics, for one, have shifted. The median income has increased, as poorer residents have not returned. The median age also is up, as families with school-age children and college students have not returned. The area's housing market is facing a change, as well.

To promote rebuilding, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Alphonso Jackson recently approved a $4.6 billion plan to provide financial aid to owners of damaged or destroyed homes.

All said, there's no telling what the new New Orleans will look like. But its changes are worth watching.

VITALS

↓ Population (city): 210,000

• Population in 2004 (city): 462,269
• U.S. rank in 2004: 35th-largest city
• Baton Rouge, La., population increase (July 2005 to January): 3.8 percent
• Houston population increase (July 2005 to January): 2.5 percent

↓ Metropolitan-area population: 914,745

• Population in July 2005: 1,292,774

↑ Median household income: $43,447

• January to August 2005: $39,793
• U.S.: $44,684

↓ Poverty rate: 12.7 percent

• January to August 2005: 16.9 percent

↑ Median age: 41.6 years

• January to August 2005: 37.7
• U.S.: 36.2

↔ Unemployment (April): 5.7 percent

• January to August 2005: 5.7 percent
• Louisiana (April): 4.1 percent
• Louisiana (September 2005): 11.4 percent
• U.S.: 4.6 percent

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