Written by Jeff Hébert, CEO

Tomorrow marks the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina’s landfall in New Orleans, forever changing the city, the Gulf Coast region, and how we think about disaster response.

So many of us from Louisiana knew we had to go home. We had no real plan, just the certainty that we needed to be there. In those early days after the storm, our world narrowed to what was right in front of us — our families, our neighbors, and our immediate community. New Orleans was heavy with grief and uncertainty. Relief systems were inadequate and overwhelmed.

Yet in the middle of that chaos, something else emerged: human resolve. Residents became rescuers, teachers became community leaders, and strangers became family.

Days turned into years, and many of us, myself included, ended up dedicating our careers to the long-term recovery of New Orleans and helping other communities prepare and respond to disaster.

I’m proud that HR&A and so many of you in our extended community continue to support New Orleans in building a more equitable and resilient city.

After two decades and countless other catastrophic events in communities around the country, we’ve learned that true recovery isn’t about getting back to how things were. It’s about building something better for the people who call that place home.

The lessons from Hurricane Katrina are universal and should continue to shape our response to every community facing the unthinkable:

• • Preparedness is everything. Waiting for disaster to strike is too late. Proactive resilience must be built into infrastructure, planning, and leadership.
  • • Listen to communities. Locals know what they need. If recovery doesn’t involve them, it fails them.
    • • Leadership requires humility and decisiveness. You can’t have all the answers, but you must be willing to act and demonstrate progress.
      • • Disasters expose inequity. The levee breaks didn’t just flood a city, they revealed systemic cracks we couldn’t afford to ignore.
        • • The bonds between people are the strongest foundation. Again and again, people show up and find a way to fill the gap where resources fall short. But long-term resilience requires proper support.

           

          As we mark this anniversary, let’s not only remember what was lost, but recommit to the work that remains. There are hard lessons that still haven’t been learned. Let’s also take a moment to reflect on what Katrina and subsequent events have exposed about who gets left behind and what it will take to ensure every community has the chance to not just survive, but thrive.

“Hurricane Katrina was a wake-up call about the heightened intensity of storms and what that amount of water could do. In its wake, city, state, and federal officials set out to make sure that type of engineering catastrophe would never happen again.”

HR&A Advisors CEO Jeff Hébert, who served as New Orleans’ first Chief Resilience Officer from 2012 to 2017, shared his thoughts in this recent Smart Cities Dive article, which traces New Orleans’ centuries-long battle against flooding and hurricanes, from its first levees in the 1700s to today’s multi-billion-dollar storm protection systems. Nearly 20 years after Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans continues to grapple with the challenges of climate change, sea level rise, and subsidence.

The piece also highlights how communities, advocacy groups, and city leaders are combining gray and green infrastructure solutions — from reinforced levees and pumping stations to bioswales, stormwater parks, and wetlands restoration — to build a safer and more resilient future.

Jeff also shared insights into the immediate recovery efforts in this piece from BisNow which examines how New Orleans’ commercial real estate market has navigated rebuilding over the past two decades.

Read the full articles:

Katrina’s 20th: Jeff Hébert on Community Recovery and Resilience — Ten Across

After Katrina, green infrastructure aims to supplement the rebuilt — but still vulnerable — levees  —  Smart Cities Dive

20 Years After Katrina, Hotels Define New Orleans. Everything Else Barely Registers — BisNow

After two years of detailed planning and engineering, evaluation of multiple station layout options, and 5,700+ community inputs, San José Diridon Station is ready to move to the next phase of redevelopment. The Diridon Partner Agencies have released an Alternatives Development Report, and elected officials have approved the At-Grade Alternative for environmental review. When complete, Diridon Station will be the nexus where Caltrain, California High-Speed Rail, BART, VTA light rail, and local transit converge in a world-class station that serves 100,000 passengers a day.

HR&A is proud to continue supporting the Partner Agencies (Caltrain, California High-Speed Rail Authority, City of San José, MTC, and VTA) in shaping governance for station redevelopment. Our work focuses on creating a delivery entity and operational strategy for the station, evaluating funding opportunities, and providing ongoing strategic guidance.

Read the complete Diridon Station Alternatives Development Report, including the Executive Summary and detailed appendices here. 

We followed three Interns from our Class of 2025—Alexander in DC, Camryn in LA, and Jose in NYC—to see what a day in the life of an HR&A intern looks like. From morning commutes that make them feel connected to the urban systems they’re helping shape to working on projects for some of the 180+ cities and communities across the globe that HR&A has served so far this year, our Interns get hands-on experience from day one. 

HR&A’s Internship Program features: 

• • Direct collaboration with Partners on real projects 
  • Dedicated mentorship with weekly career development conversations 
  • Support developing best-in-practices skills, learning new technical tools, and understanding our rigorous methodologies 
  • Cross-office teamwork spanning our locations across the country 
  • Final presentations that offer an opportunity for Interns to showcase their impact 
  • Hybrid flexibility that maximizes both in-person collaboration and connectivity

  This isn’t your typical internship experience. Our interns contribute to projects that transform communities, work alongside senior leadership, and build skills that launch careers in urban development. 

   

  Interested in joining our next cohort? Keep an eye out for when applications open this fall!

   

  

   

  

   

  

  

   

Queens 2100 confronts a hard truth: flooding in coastal communities isn’t a distant threat—it’s already reshaping how we live, invest, and plan. HR&A Advisors Principal Jonathan Haragold joined a study led by Bill Kenworthey from HOK, which moves beyond the question of if flooding will disrupt life in low-lying neighborhoods—and instead asks when, how much, and what we can do now.

Nearly 40% of Americans live in coastal counties, and this plan provides a scalable, neighborhood-level framework to help low-lying areas prepare for climate impacts. From buyouts and leasebacks to targeted rezoning and disclosure laws, Queens 2100 lays out practical tools that any neighborhood can use to shift growth away from flood risks and safeguard local residents and businesses.

Read the full article to explore the strategies and tools shaping this neighborhood-focused approach to climate adaptation here.

As cities nationwide continue grappling with office vacancies, Arlington County, like many municipalities and local governments, is exploring a streamlined approach to office-to-residential conversions. 

One of the authors of a recent Office to Residential Study with Brookings Metro and Gensler for HUD, HR&A Partner Jon Meyers shared his thoughts in The Builder’s Daily: “In addition to a policy environment that’s conducive to conversion, there has to be a residential demand to support that conversion. People have to want to live there.” 

Explore how adaptive reuse can transform urban spaces and support vibrant, resilient communities. Read the full Brookings report here.

HR&A Partner Amitabh Barthakur will join industry leaders at the AIA Las Vegas Placemaking Summit — Momentum: Where Change Takes Shape.

This year’s summit will bring together developers, planners, architects, policymakers, and community leaders to explore innovative, sustainable, and resilient approaches to shaping vibrant, livable communities.

Amitabh will speak in Session 5, focusing on Transit-Oriented Development. He will explore innovative funding and financing solutions as well as transit’s role in building connected, livable cities.

Learn More!

Los Angeles has taken a critical step toward reimagining how it invests in public space. 

Last week, the Public Space Leadership Council presented 16 recommendations for reforming how LA plans, budgets, and delivers infrastructure — from sidewalk repairs and shade equity to park access and streetlights.  

HR&A Managing Partner of our LA office Connie Chung supported Investing in Place in their effort to help shape a more equitable and transparent approach to civic infrastructure. As Connie shared: “Managing public space well requires more than good design—it takes vision, coordination, and long-term investment. A Capital Infrastructure Program is really a foundational step toward building public spaces that reflect who we are as a city and serve the everyday needs of Angelenos.” 

We’re excited to see this important work move forward, led by Investing in Place and a coalition of civic leaders committed to aligning public investment with the needs of Angelenos. 

Read the Full article here. 

Read the full report here.