By Richard Wall
Builders and contractors are pivotal players in the February 23-March 1 meeting in Gulfport, Miss., where they will help shape that Hurricane Katrina-damaged city's new building codes. The long gathering is called a charrette, which is an intensive design process involving the collaboration of all stakeholders at the beginning of a project to develop a comprehensive plan. And the one in Gulfport, Mississippi's largest coastal city, could help move the state's huge recovery plan from bold vision to built reality.
The state government's reaction to rebuilding after Katrina was to hit the ground early and build a plan from the shoreline up. Through Governor Haley Barbour's Commission on Recovery, Rebuilding and Renewal, Mississippi is trying to seize the opportunity and rebuild model cities under a cohesive plan that highlights local architectural character, fully integrated community design, and hurricane-resistant structures.
A plan for plans
The Congress for New Urbanism organized an initial charrette that brought in people from all over the stricken areas of Mississippi's coast. The Governor's Commission for Recovery, Rebuilding and Renewal (GCRRR) had field staffers in areas to work with residents, builders, lenders and local officials. The commission and its many participants crafted a summary report, a summation of 18 reports with recommendations for rebuilding each of the 11 towns along the Gulf and the entire 120 miles of coastline.
Harking back to Roman ways of designing the entire built environment, the commission developed a pattern book full of local architectural detail and archival images to guide in reconstruction. Then they put these plans in people's hands, distributing 30,000 free copies of the summary report and pattern book (both can be found at www.governorscommission.com).
But you know what can happen to even the best-laid plans, such as those largely ignored in the Gulf Coast after Hurricane Camille in 1969. This time, though, it's different—at least in Mississippi.
"After Katrina, we had 50 town hall meetings, where all of the rebuilding committees had local input," says Leigh Ann Cox with the GCRRR. "Many members from these communities were involved from the beginning, and that helped give them ownership in the rebuilding plans."
That sense of ownership will be key to everyone going along in what could be one of the most extensive and most well-designed rebuilding efforts ever. A region-wide SmartCode overlays local zoning codes, so densities and property uses match up. Cities and towns would be redesigned and completely integrated, from green spaces and parks linking neighborhoods to the rerouting of rail lines to ports for a better downtown aesthetic.
It's going to take a lot of different types of building: lower income housing, rebuilding expensive antebellum homes, large-scale developments, and smaller-scale ones handled by local builders. "Condos are also coming, which we didn't have many of before the storm," says Leigh Ann.
She adds that a lot of this activity will take place by the end of 2008, with the expiration of the federal Gulf Recovery Zone legislation that now offers low interest loans and rebuilding incentives.
Local Motion
The commission has liaisons working with each community to assist in adopting the summary report guidelines for tailoring their individual rebuilding plans. More local charrettes are in the works. Gulfport Mayor Brent Warr will participate in the builders charrette; he sees their involvement as a crucial factor in the success of the summary report and the revitalization of his city.
"I can't overemphasize how important they are to this process," says Mayor Warr. "There are a lot of opportunities to rebuild because of insurance payments, FEMA spending, and other federal funds. But the lion's share of the rebuilding effort will come from the private sector."
The Mayor says some of the largest builders in the world are interested in being a part of this massive project, and local builders are right there with them. Of course, there's the profit motive, but Mayor Warr says area builders see the importance of being involved in the unprecedented rebuilding effort.
The February 23 builders and contractors charrette will probably recommend that Gulfport adopt International Building Codes and FEMA's new flood-insurance guidelines. Just as this charrette gives the building community ownership in the proposed rebuilding plans, Mayor Warr says it's also important to keep residents involved. Gulfport recently held a workshop for those who lost their homes, so that they could meet with architects to see what their new homes might look like under the new FEMA height guidelines for habitable floors.
The big DIY
Gulfport's and Mississippi's approach to rebuilding has been one of action, and that leadership makes a big difference in getting everyone to move forward. "We are creating our own map and our own plan," says Mayor Warr. "We hope the federal government and all its agencies will walk parallel with us in that plan. But we didn't wait for anyone to tell us when it was time to rebuild our community."
The prime question for Gulfport builders and contractors right now is the issue of insurability, and hence the level of moisture-resistance the new buildings they erect will have to meet. Meanwhile, builders along the coast are scurrying to acquire developable properties.
If the GCRRR plans are realized—and Mayor Warr is working hard in Gulfport to see that they are—the city will be markedly better than it was before Katrina. There's still a long way to go; Gulfport's negotiations with FEMA are one of several important items that need to be worked out. And it could be that the gulf between plans and execution proves to be a wide one.
"We know that's going to be the most difficult part," says Mayor Warr. "But it's also going to be the most exciting part."
Richard Wall is a freelance writer in St. Augustine, Fla.
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