“Louisiana is in a unique position to build expertise and infrastructure that will be the foundation for coming generations,” said co-author Jesse Keenan, the Favrot II Associate Professor in Tulane’s School of Architecture and Built Environment. “Transition planning is not only key to maintaining continuity, but it offers significant economic opportunities, from land-building strategies to renewable energy and new housing development.”
“Congratulations! You are in a unique position to build expertise and firsthand experience for the future use of this never before tested ejection seat! Good luck!”
Being collapse aware is heartbreaking, it means recognizing that New Orleans, one of the most culturally vibrant cities on earth, is dying and will die no matter what we do now.
People understandably don’t want to face that, they want to cling to places like New Orleans and it will only make the collapse that much more devastating.
Louisiana, even more than Florida, is a state of absolute collapse. I can’t imagine how painful it must be to look at a city you love like that and leave for the rest of your life, but sooner or later people will have no choice and it will be better for everyone if they make that choice sooner rather than later when they are more desperate and it may already be too late.
link to open access article…
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41893-026-01820-z
Also see related article
https://phys.org/news/2026-05-louisiana-coast-world-early-climate.html
I said goodbye to NOLA after Katrina, and the mourning is still real. Some friends still live there, I wonder what they or their adult children in the future will choose to do when they have to move. It’s one of the few places that actually has culture and beautiful architecture in America, if it could be rebuilt somewhere less concerning, that’d be great, but we saw how the culture is the people after so few were able to return after Katrina. If they just rebuild NOLA but the same ppl aren’t there… what, new ppl are just going to be like “Yes, I will tapdance for tips or be a silver stature next to this gorgeous building and tarot reader for the sake of continuity.” Doubt it. It’ll be too expensive a city to live in, so the rich ppl who move in might have a gorgeous backdrop, but it won’t ever be NOLA.