Three years ago, Louisiana’s Office of Community Development – Disaster Recovery Unit provided $2.5 million in funding for Greater New Orleans, Inc. (GNO, Inc.) to develop the Greater New Orleans Urban Water Plan. Utilizing New Orleans architecture firm Waggonner and Ball, along with international water management experts, the plan was developed.
GNO Inc. and the Royal Netherlands Embassy have announced the launch of the Greater New Orleans Urban Water Plan iPad app, which is now available for download in the Apple Store. The app was designed to share the goals of decreasing flooding and increasing the quality of life in Southeast Louisiana with the general public.
Global leaders who participated in the development of the app hope that other cities will follow suit, spreading information and solutions to water and climate challenges.
Dutch Ambassador Rudolf Bekink, said “The app is a gorgeous tool that makes accessible to its users the complex interactions of hydrology, geology, drainage, landscape architecture and urban planning. We’re confident that the app will encourage other cities in the US and around the globe to look to the Netherlands and to New Orleans as leaders in the emerging field of climate and landscape adaptation.”
“The release of the iPad app for the Greater New Orleans Urban Water Plan puts water management in the hands of everyday citizens,” said Michael Hecht, President and CEO of GNO, Inc. “Implementation of the Urban Water Plan will make Greater New Orleans a better place to live and work, while building our new brand as national “water experts” – something clearly to be in demand in a world of increasing weather volatility.”
Local firm Blue Crab Labs designed the app, the video was produced by Fat Happy Media, the historical map renderings were done by Richard Campanella, and photography was done by Chris Grainger Photography.
“The app component of the plan gave us a chance to distill a series of complex urban design and engineering issues into an innovative interactive form,” said Pableaux Johnson of Blue Crab Labs. “The project was a great chance to work with an international team — from the planners at Waggonner and Ball, the folks at GNO inc, and the contingent from the Netherlands — to explain their approach to solving one of the region’s most pressing problems.”