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Neighborhoods in District 12 Algiers Point McDonogh Whitney Fischer Development Behrman   U.S. Naval Base Tall Timbers/ Brechtel Old Aurora New Aurora/ Cutoff

Transportation links to the East Bank, first by boat and later by bridge, have played a central role in the development of District 12.  Development began in Old Algiers, located in the northwest corner of the district, as a result of ferry service connecting it to the CBD and Vieux Carré.    
 
In the late 19th Century, as New Orleans became a railroad hub, District 12 enjoyed the prosperity created by the railroad yard that extended south from the Mississippi River to the Parish line.  Due to this prosperity and the backwater swamps that hindered development on the East Bank, District 12 grew extensively as New Orleans experienced strong economic growth and a large population influx in the late 19th and early 20th Century, Between 1927 and 1949 very little construction occurred on the West Bank, but the construction of the Mississippi River Bridge during the 1950s provided the impetus for another era of intensive construction.  By 1965, most development had been completed in the northwest section of the district and the William J. Fischer Housing Development, the last conventional public housing unit built in the city, had been built. A mixture of single family and multifamily residential development proceeded to the east, along General De Gaulle and General MacArthur Boulevards, from the 1960’s through the 1980’s.

The largest land use categories in District 12 are residential (primarily single-family residential), public, and semi-public uses that include large parks, golf courses and the Naval Station, among others.  District 12 is characterized by a fairly even division between owner and renter occupied housing units; and it had a slightly smaller African American population than the City as a whole. Recent development within District 12 has consisted of large scale commercial infill and smaller scale residential infill projects. A Wal-Mart Supercenter and accompanying mall were constructed along Behrman Highway, and several strip shopping centers were built near the intersection of Holiday Drive and General De Gaulle Boulevard in recent years. The residential neighborhoods of District 12 have remained stable and largely middle class through the years. Old Algiers, in particular, has witnessed a surge in residential renovations as well as some limited new infill development.

Although the West Bank was spared from Katrina’s floodwaters, District 12 did experience a moderate degree of wind damage. Wind damage resulted in the temporary loss of some of the District’s larger multifamily properties, but repair work has commenced on most of the damaged structures. Consequently, District 12 should begin to return to its pre-Katrina condition in the coming months. (Sources: City of New Orleans 1999 Land Use Plan and GCR & Associates, Inc.)

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New Orleans
Neighborhood Planning Districts

1: French Quarter/CBD
2: Central City/Garden District
3: Uptown/Carrollton
4: Mid-City
5: Lakeview
6: Gentilly
7: Bywater
8: Lower Ninth Ward
9: New Orleans East
10: Village de L’Est
11: Viavant/Venetian Isles
12: Algiers
13: New Aurora/English Turn

NORA
New Orleans
Redevelopment Authority
1340 Poydras Street
Suite 600
New Orleans, Louisiana 70112
tel: 504-658-4400
fax: 504-658-4551