With regard to smells - my dominant impression of the smell of the FQ last trip - about 2 weeks after Mardi Gras (ironically - that trip was to view and smell the spring flowers) - was piss and vomit and disinfectant. A totally manmade smell (probably womanmade too). Someone told me that during Mardi Gras - the "city fathers" don't put out "port-a-potties" - and you can't enter a retail establishment to use "the facilities" without buying something - so what do they expect?????

As for Habitat for Humanity - I have zero respect for that outfit as it operates here in coastal northeast Florida. They do build tidy little houses. Fast and cheap. And 100% unfit for any area which could ever experience even a category one hurricane - much less a worse one. No better than FEMA trailers IMO.

The big problem with NO is it can't figure out what to do now with a city that is below sea level and is subject to being hit by hurricanes. The talk of building levees capable of withstanding "any storm" is sheer nonsense - and no one is willing to grapple with the (rather expensive) building alternatives. One thing I know for sure - perhaps it is possible to design reasonable housing for NO given what might happen there - but Habitat For Humanity won't be building that stuff (everything they build here is on grade stick garbage). On my part - one efficient means of construction that comes to mind is high rise concrete/steel construction with things like storm windows/shutters - etc. - where the first "living" floor is at least 2 stories above ground (the bottom 2 stories being used for parking and the like). Robyn