Rethinking the structural basis of urban development: The power and peril of communities in post-Katrina New Orleans

In this dissertation, I examine how social capital at the community level contributes to the promotion of development in urban contexts. In particular, this dissertation investigates how the patterns of social structure in New Orleans neighborhoods affect how the city has recovered from Hurricane Katrina's landfall in 2005.;In chapter 1 I discuss why I chose post-Katrina New Orleans to study the relationship between social capital and urban development. In the following chapter I revisit the concept of social capital and how it is understood in urban contexts. In particular, I point out that social capital in the current literature is narrowly defined as an individual's horizontal social network, but the structural element is crucial in understanding the meaning and utility of social capital. To advance this idea, I suggest a conceptual framework that emphasizes the structural origins of social capital based on formality and directionality.;Chapters 3 and 4 outline a political economic context in which post-Katrina communities are situated. In chapter 3 I argue that the rise of social capital is based on the structural constraints that arise from the federalist intergovernmental structure. First, the federal government is pressured into protecting damaged communities in inherently flood-prone areas, but this "return to the familiar" ends up increasing the likelihood of hazards in the case of future disaster. Second, although state and local government should invest in disaster management theoretically, they have little incentive to do so due to the heavy cost burden and lack of immediate benefit. These intergovernmental constraints lead to what I call community paradox: Despite the rise of civic engagement, its scope is limited such that benefits of social capital seldom cross neighborhood boundaries and do not reach the most disadvantaged population in the community. Based on this argument, Chapter 4 traces the history of New Orleans political economy that allowed for community-led redevelopment after Katrina.;In Chapter 5 I examine the role of locally embedded social structure on post-Katrina repopulation. Employing Geographic Information System (GIS) and a spatial lag regression design, this chapter explores the effect of pre-Katrina organizational density on post-Katrina repopulation. I show that there exists a consistent positive association between primary social organizations and repopulation, while ancillary social organizations are found to have no impact. Furthermore, I reveal that the role of civic organizations is spatially bounded, such that as recovery goes on, the spatial diffusion effect attenuates over time. Results suggest that the role of civic organizations in urban development is positive only to the extent that (i) these organizations foster formal social relationships, and (ii) they reinforce existing spatial boundaries.;Chapter 6 shifts our focus to political engagement. Focusing on the potential effect of community political participation on the distributive patterns of urban service provided by city government, I test a hypothesis that the number of building permits and the speed of permit issuance are positively associated with the degree of community participation in local politics. Using a unique data set including permit applications from 2005 - 2008, I find that political factors are associated with building permits distribution in various ways. First, political participation in local politics contributes to an increase in the number of permits granted in a community, and greatly reduces the duration of time before which the permit is issued. However, while participation in national elections is only slightly associated with the number of permits, it is not associated with the speed of permit issuance. Third, support for a particular candidate has no influence on either of these outcomes.;To complement the quantitative findings from previous chapters, chapter 7 offers qualitative evidence on how social capital shapes the contour of post-Katrina recovery. I trace the processes of redevelopment in two neighborhoods, Broadmoor and Freret, through the lens of resident experience. I start with recounting the history of these neighborhoods and organizations based within them. I then document the ways in which residents overcame difficulties of post-Katrina redevelopment by using preexisting organizational resources. As it turned out, the preexisting social structure played a crucial role in resurrecting both neighborhoods (albeit to a different degree). However, despite (or because of) the successful community recovery, part of the neighborhood became the target rather than the beneficiary of the community development efforts. Instead of receiving assistance for comeback and rebuilding, some of the residents were involuntarily driven out of the neighborhood. In closing, I summarize the findings and address some of the major weaknesses in the dissertation. Then I discuss this dissertation's contribution to the current scholarship and share thoughts for further research.;By looking at New Orleans recovery processes, this project ultimately seeks to advance our knowledge on the development of declining cities. (Abstract shortened by UMI.).