Progress Now Action

We have all been horrified by the scenes of devastation in China from the 7.9 Richter scale quake.  What we are seeing is a massive effort by the Chinese government to come to the rescue of its citizens during this time of national emergency.  With 100,000 troops and police being sent to aid in the rescue efforts in the province of Sichuan there has been extensive coverage by Chinese media.

I am wondering at what will Sichuan province look like in a few years? 

The worst natural disaster to hit an American region was Hurricane Katrina in 2005.  The city of New Orleans is being rebuilt to a very different standard than what pre-Katrina NOLA was in both population demographics and urban planning to meet that demographic.

Why cannot New Orleans' Lower Ninth Ward be restored and why cannot undamaged public housing be simply cleaned up and made livable for those who are now refugees?  There is no need to destroy those thousands of units of housing that had sustained minimal damage.  What is the plan except to raze them for housing that will have no tax burden to the City of New Orleans but will generate income for the city?  Even now there is the underground of protest against the destruction of the city that is called the soul of America. 

Will the province of Sichuan go the way of NOLA?  How will the Chinese deal with this great disaster?  Will the cities of Sichuan still be in a state of rubble and inattention like the Lower Ninth Ward of NOLA in three years?  (Because the residents of the Lower Ninth Ward are seeking the right of return to their homes still.)  Will the Chinese government see this as an opportunity to remove "undesirables" like the communities of New Orleans have done?

China should not imitate the dishonor and shame that is now the hallmark of the recovery of our American City of New Orleans.