Papers by Elaine (Ditsler) Ortiz
Summary Hurricane Katrina and the levee failures sparked the largest population displacement sinc... more Summary Hurricane Katrina and the levee failures sparked the largest population displacement since the Dust Bowl, and changed the map of poverty in Southeast Louisiana. The city of New Orleans lost nearly 50,000 poor residents between 1999 and 2008-2010, St. Bernard Parish lost nearly 4,000 poor residents, and Plaquemines Parish lost nearly 2,400 poor residents. But there was little appreciable increase in the number of poor residents in the remainder of Southeast Louisiana, suggesting that the poor displaced from the most heavily damaged parishes were largely resettled beyond Southeast Louisiana or lifted out of poverty by new economic opportunities. Nonetheless, with the reduction of poverty in the New Orleans area (and the overall reduction of poverty in the region), the suburbs are now home to the vast majority of poor in Southeast Louisiana. Between 1999 and 2008-10, the share of the region’s poor living in suburbs increased from 56 percent to 67 percent. The cities of New Orle...
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Papers by Elaine (Ditsler) Ortiz