The Louisiana Recovery Authority (LRA) was the governmental body created in the aftermath of hurricanes Katrina and

Rita Rita may refer to: People * Rita (given name) * Rita (Indian singer) (born 1984) * Rita (Israeli singer) (born 1962) * Rita (Japanese singer) * Eliza Humphreys (1850–1938), wrote under the pseudonym Rita Places * Djarrit, also known as R ...

by Governor

Kathleen Blanco Kathleen Marie Blanco (née Babineaux; December 15, 1942 – August 18, 2019) was an American politician who served as the 54th Governor of Louisiana from January 2004 to January 2008. A member of the Democratic Party, she was the first and, ...

to plan for the recovery and rebuilding of

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is bord ...

. Under the leadership of the founding executive director, Andy Kopplin, the authority's mission was to plan for Louisiana's future, coordinate across jurisdictions, support community recovery and resurgence, and ensure integrity and effectiveness. By working in collaboration with local, state and federal agencies, the authority's goal was to also address short-term recovery needs while guiding the long-term planning process. In part, the authority's creation was intended to ensure recovery decisions were made based on critical recovery priorities rather than political influences. It was modeled on the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, which guided recovery and redevelopment in New York after 9/11. Hurricanes Katrina and

devastated South Louisiana, destroying more than 200,000 homes and 18,000 businesses and causing about $25 billion in insured losses. The LRA lead one of the most extensive rebuilding efforts in the world. The LRA's decisions were made by a 33-member board of directors, led by its chairman,

Xavier University of Louisiana Xavier University of Louisiana (also known as XULA) is a private, historically black, Catholic university in New Orleans, Louisiana. It is the only Catholic HBCU and, upon the canonization of Katharine Drexel in 2000, became the first Cathol ...

President

Norman Francis Norman Christopher Francis (born March 20, 1931) is a retired African-American academic who served as president of Xavier University of Louisiana from 1968 to 2015. He was the first Black and first lay president of the school, and the second Afr ...

, and its vice chairman, journalist and author

Walter Isaacson Walter Seff Isaacson (born May 20, 1952) is an American author, journalist, and professor. He has been the President and CEO of the Aspen Institute, a nonpartisan policy studies organization based in Washington, D.C., the chair and CEO of CNN ...

. The authority was staffed by fewer than 30 state government employees. The LRA designed all policy and programs funded by $10.4 billion in federal

Community Development Block Grant The Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), one of the longest-running programs of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, funds local community development activities with the stated goal of providing affordable housing, anti-po ...

(CDBG) congressionally approved funds. The LRA's largest program dedicated $7.5 billion to helping residents of Louisiana affected by Hurricane Katrina or Rita get back into their homes as quickly and fairly as possible. At the time, the groundbreaking program, called the Road Home, represented the largest single housing recovery program in U.S. history. The program afforded eligible homeowners up to $150,000 in compensation for their losses to get back into their homes. As of February 1, 2008 the final number of applications received was 185,106. Of those applications received 159,406 were deemed eligible.

References

External links

Official site
*CSPA
Videos
*"Finding Silver Linings", LSU Law Review, Winte
2008
recovery Hurricane Katrina disaster relief Hurricane Rita {{Tropical-cyclone-stub