The Plan Defined

The Unified New Orleans Plan (UNOP) was organized to create a comprehensive post Katrina Recovery Plan for the city of New Orleans. The New Orleans city charter mandates creation of a recovery plan post natural disasters, in addition the Louisiana Recovery Authority (LRA), tasked with the challenge of distributing federal aid to hurricane devastated parishes, required that each impacted parish submit a comprehensive, inclusive plan designed to return services, systems and infrastructure to their condition pre August 2005.

Since the weeks following hurricane Katrina, communities across the city have been actively meeting and producing plans for rebuilding. The Unified New Orleans Plan is a process which will help bring all the efforts including the Bring New Orleans Back Commission, FEMA F-14, individual neighborhood plans,and the City Council’s Neighborhood Planning Initiative, commonly known as the Lambert Plans into a consistent document required by the LRA.

The completed UNOP work awaits approval from the City Planning Commission before presentation to the City Council and Mayor as the last steps before presentation to the LRA.

In the interim UNOP has informed the Office of Recovery Management and been used as a tool in selecting the initial 17 geographic focus areas in New Orleans.

A recovery and rebuilding plan is required to capitalize on the federal and state recovery funds that are available for residents and the city to rebuild. The plan will allow city and state officials to coordinate post-disaster recovery more efficiently and effectively and will help New Orleans comply with necessary federal mandates. The plan will also identify critical needs of investment, so private and public entities know how to best provide help in New Orleans.