Every New Orleans House In A Database

Now, inspectors with laptops are identifying ruined houses. “Every house in New Orleans is loaded into this database,” explains Centineo [Safety and Permits director for the city of New Orleans]. The reports are sent instantly to a computer at city hall, where the database is linked to aerial images of every address, both before and after. - 60 Minutes (Nov 20, 2005), CBS transcripts.

One obstacle to addressing New Orleans recovery is that the "needs problem" is so messy and uncertain to most of us. If each house in a flood-damaged neighborhood is identified and can have its status updated on a virtual map, it would provide a bounded series of targets to focus the recovery efforts of various government agencies, business contractors, non-profit organizations, and private citizens.

I get bullish about New Orleans to the extent that the recovery needs are concrete and can be broken down to managable pieces that all of us can see. Visual displays that organize the house data by neighborhood and street are a step in that direction (see Actionable Step #6)