Today’s T-P has a story about the latest population trends for Da Parish and the metro area as a whole, and it’s about what I expected. It’s also one of the many reasons why we’ve chosen to remain in New Orleans instead of following so many others out to the ‘burbs.

Except for the sometimes can’t-get-there-from-here layout of some of the streets, I can get pretty much wherever I want or need to go in about 15 minutes. I don’t have to worry about parking a half-day from a store or about being caught in mulish traffic. I can walk from the house to virtually anything I need and, frankly, I like this lower population thing. And don’t tell me about crime — since the folks in Jefferson and St. Tammany are dealing with similar issues.

Of course, we don’t have children to educate — and that would be a major problem. As Orleans Parish has about 63% of its pre-K population, I’d estimate its public schools are providing about a similar percentage of adequate education (based on my back-and-forth with the neighborhood high-schoolers). But it was that way three and five and ten years ago.
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The downside of our less-dense living, however, is economic. The lowered population simply can’t support the same number of businesses or, far as I can tell, the same types of businesses. During the week, one can set up a ten-lane bowling alley in Jackson Square. While Mid-City is coming back nicely in some areas, huge holes remain — same as in Gentilly and in Lakeview. And what about New Orleans East (he asked, his words echoing in the vast vacantness)?

Personally, I like the lowered population. But it bodes ill for the city as a whole and I’m not sure what, if anything, can be done about it. The bootstrapping bullets are quickly running out and Gubmint obviously isn’t and can’t be the answer. So I think we’re just going to have to get used to things as they are for quite sometime to come. I don’t mean to simply accept it (I can never just accept the status quo) — but deal with it best we can while celebrating the small steps (streetcars, reopened businesses) when they occur.

Oh, and thank a tourist. Every day.