Community Profile and Images | Statistical Profile

Neighborhoods in District 8 Lower Ninth Ward Holy Cross

District 8 is characterized by its rich history, strong sense of community, and high percentage of home ownership.  Development began in 1812 in the Holy Cross area along the River with the subdivision of the Jean Baptiste Castillon plantation.   
 
In 1833 the US government began assembling land to provide a central garrison and medical and supply point for troops. The Jackson Barracks were constructed along the eastern boundary of the District to meet this need.  Another major event in the development of this area was the construction of the Industrial Canal in the 1920’s, which isolated the area from the rest of New Orleans.  The Lower Ninth Ward, the northern part of this district, was one of the City’s last neighborhoods to be developed.  Originally a cypress swamp, the area is very low lying; and development only became possible after major drainage and road improvements were completed between 1910 and 1920.

Throughout the last quarter of the 20th Century, there has been a decline in the neighborhood as large industrial uses have left the area and as the middle income population has fallen.  Before Katrina, the population was 93% African American with almost half of its housing being owner occupied.  In this predominantly residential area, incomes were well below the citywide average prior to the Hurricane. In the last several years, there were few major development or redevelopment initiatives in this District.

The Hurricane’s worst effects were realized in District 8 as a breach in the Industrial Canal resulted in the most catastrophic flooding in the City. As water rushed through the breach, houses were completely obliterated while those structures that lay further from the breach soaked in high floodwaters for weeks. When Hurricane Rita skirted the New Orleans area several weeks after Hurricane Katrina, more floodwaters rushed through the breach in the Industrial Canal levee. Very little of the area’s housing stock is currently inhabitable. (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