Research Projects

Current Projects

• Coastwise Community Collaborative (Ford Foundation through the New Orleans Foundation)

  A joint meeting of the 11 coastal communities participating in the Coast wide Community Collaborative was funded to hear presentations from the Jean Lafitte citizens involved in the NOAA coastal community resiliency project and to plan for the next phases of the collaborative.

• Reconsidering the “New Normal”: Impact of Trauma on Urban Ecological and Social Diversity (NSF – subcontract to Tulane University)

  In collaboration with Tulane and Xavier Universities, CHART is conducting an NSF-funded interdisciplinary research project on the impacts of traumatic events on social and ecological diversity, with New Orleans utilized as a case study. CHART's role on this project is to collect neighborhood-level data in the Lower 9th Ward, Hollygrove, and Pontchartrain Park neighborhoods, to trace the social networks, and to conduct comparative analyses of pre- and post-event diversity.

• Community Education & Outreach (FEMA through GOHSEP)

  UNO-CHART has been funded to implement mitigation outreach and education projects intended to inform citizens, business owners, non-profit organizations, and local officials about the risks to which they are vulnerable and ways in which those risks can be reduced through multiple mitigation methods. Each of the following five projects will work towards increasing the overall awareness of the ability to address potential disasters before they happen:  Continuity Contingency Planning and Mitigation for Community Organizations: Businesses, Government Agencies, Faith Organizations and Non-Profit Groups; Campus-Wide Coastal Hazards Resiliency Curriculum & Development of Hazard Mitigation Planning Curriculum; Risk Literacy; Disaster Resilient Uniersity State-Wide Conference; Community Executives Program in Storm Risk Management.

• Blending Remote Sensing and Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) to Support Ecosystem Health (CREST-NOAA; Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant)

  Coastal erosion is challenging the very existence of communities in coastal Louisiana, especially through affecting the fisheries. A traditional community is partnering with physical scientists and engineers to assess and respond to marsh health. By combining Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) with Remote Sensing, the team is investigating the nature of coastal land loss and its effect on the ecosystem underpinning of coastal, natural resource extractive communities.

• Hazard Mitigation Project Scoping & Plan Amendment (DHS-FEMA/GOHSEP)

  Through this grant, UNO-CHART will assist the University in identifying, evaluating, prioritizing, and scoping potential mitigation projects for our campus.

• Hazard Mitigation Plan for the UNO Satellite Locations (DHS-FEMA/GOHSEP)

  In 2006, UNO-CHART led the development of a FEMA approved Mitigation Plan for the University’s main campus. This grant allows us to assist the University in creating a Plan for its satellite locations.

• Repetitive Floodless Reduction Project for the State of LA/TX – Post Hurricane Katrina (FEMA)

  This project focuses on working with communities to reduce their numbers of repetitive losses (per FEMA’s definition of repetitive loss) through three major deliverables: (1) website and web-based data portal, (2) area analysis, (3) outreach.

Past Projects

• Local Coastal Zone Management Capacity Post Hurricanes Katrina and Rita: A Comparative Study (Louisiana Sea Grant)

The hurricane events of 2005 have brought into critical focus the need to assess how best to provide the necessary tools to build knowledge and local capabilities to meet the needs of present and future challenges in coastal management in Louisiana. Following after a pre-hurricane study of the effectiveness of Louisiana’s Local Coastal Program (LCP) in building local coastal zone management capacity in local decision-makers (Norris-Raynbird, 2006), this study is aimed at gathering post-event comparison data to examine the current status of Local Coastal Program development, knowledge of local decision makers pertaining to coastal zone management issues and perceptions of vulnerability. Louisiana Sea Grant

• How Safe/How Soon? Community Mitigation Implementation (Blue Moon Foundation via EDF)

In the process of considering reducing risk from coastal flooding, communities are seeking support for a speedy response to more safe conditions by implementing non-structural efforts complementary to levees. EDF seeks to support such best practices using UNO-CHART and Tulane University Institute on Water Resources, Law and Policy to assist.

• Community Engagement for Storm Risk Reduction (LaDOTD)

State floodplain managers will partner with university faculty and personnel to engage the range of flood risk stakeholders in two communities - eastern and western part of Louisiana so that all partners can grow in capacity to support and collaborate on risk reduction planning and implementation.

• Analysis of Stafford Act Performance for Catastrophe (Ford Foundation)

Extensive concern has been expressed by governments, citizen victims and non-governmental organizations about the manner in which the federal government, and the state and local, responded to the catastrophe of hurricane Katrina. Systematic analysis of these issues is being undertaken.

• Enhancing GOM Coastal Community Resiliency (NOAA)

This project employs a PAR (Participatory Action Research) methodology for building local capacity in three South Louisiana coastal communities. The PAR methodology is a hands-off approach to research; university researchers are able to work alongside with community members over an extended time. There is a genuine respect for place, ideas and culture.

• Evaluation of Project, “Toward a Successful Evacuation of the Entire New Orleans Community” (Baptist Community Ministries/ARC)

This grant provides funds to conduct an evaluation of the project entitled “Our Brothers Keeper (OBK)”, a faith-based evacuation project for the City of New Orleans. OBK project partners include: American Red Cross, Regional Planning Commission, and Total Community Action.

• Community Elevation Conversations (PERI)  

A project to inform homeowners about elevating their homes to reduce flood risk, including education about government funding and other resources, to encourage a greater number of successful home elevations in the post-Katrina rebuilding process.