Plan release date: January 15, 2007
Funding Agency: Greater New Orleans Foundation (with grants from the Rockefeller Foundation,
        the Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund and GNOF)
Cost: $5.5 Million

The Unified New Orleans Plan (UNOP) was created to include all neighborhoods in the planning of the city's large scale infrastructure needs. This planning will take place on the neighborhood, district and citywide levels.

The UNOP process will incorporate completed and in progress professional and community planning work to make sure that no unnecessary duplicative work is done. Furthermore, the LRA is on record as saying that some expedited funding may be approved for infrastructure projects that are identified before the final plan is presented.

Once completed, this infrastructure plan will be submitted to the City Planning Commission, the City Council for review and the Mayor's Office and then onto the Louisiana Recovery Authority (LRA) for approval. The LRA will then use this parish plan to guide the investment of federal funds to begin the strategic rebuilding of communities in Orleans Parish.

Since the start of the year, communities across the city have been actively meeting and producing plans for rebuilding. With the help of paid and volunteer professionals, local and national universities and other technical resources, many neighborhood and planning district plans are finished or are nearly complete. However, other neighborhoods have not started to plan yet and may need additional resources. The Unified New Orleans Plan is a process which will help bring resources to communities requiring technical help and will also incorporate all neighborhood plans that have been created to create a city-wide recovery and rebuilding plan.

A recovery and rebuilding plan is required to capitalize on the federal and state recovery funds that are available for residents and the city to rebuild. The plan will allow city and state officials to coordinate post-disaster recovery more efficiently and effectively and will help New Orleans comply with necessary federal mandates. The plan will also identify critical needs of investment, so private and public entities know how to best provide help in New Orleans.

The final phase of the New Orleans Planning process will result in 13 complete planning district plans and one city-wide plan. The final New Orleans Recovery and Rebuilding plan will be submitted to the City Planning Commission for review in January 2007 and will follow the City's ratification process into early 2007.