New Orleans plan angers residents

New Orleans currently has about a fifth of its pre-Katrina population

A group of New Orleans residents has expressed anger at proposals to rebuild the city, which was devastated by Hurricane Katrina last August.

They were upset by a recommended four-month moratorium on rebuilding homes in some affected districts.

The Bring New Orleans Back (BNOB) commission has spent three months assessing the city's future.

The commission, set up by Mayor Ray Nagin, made its suggestions for residents public on Wednesday.

The scheme is part of a plan to restore the Louisiana city to its former glory, which may prove to be the costliest rebuilding programme in US history.

'Scheming'

Mr Nagin said the flood-ravaged US city's residents would have to face "harsh realities" about its future.

This report is controversial - it pushes the edge of the envelope Ray Nagin New Orleans mayor

The moratorium is designed to make sure enough homeowners move back into the areas that had been affected the worst by the flood, so that the communities are viable and not surrounded by derelict homes.

But there has been anger directed at officials such as developer Joseph Canizaro.

"I don't know you, but Mr Canizaro, I hate you," said resident Harvey Bender of the Lower Ninth Ward. "You've been in the background scheming to take our land."

"Our neighbourhood is ready to come home," said property owner Jeb Bruneau.

"Don't get in our way and prevent us from doing that. Help us cut the red tape."

Over the next nine days the commission will outline plans to revamp key areas including health, education and infrastructure.

Mr Nagin said: "This report is controversial. It pushes the edge of the envelope. Lets, as a community, take the time. Let's discuss it, let's debate it, let's analyse it and let's tweak it.

The full report - which will eventually be presented to the federal government - is thought to include plans for a 53-mile light railway system and a new jazz district, as well as recommendations on how to prevent future flooding.

Property buy-out

There was an outcry in December when a group appointed by the commission said that the city should concentrate the rebuilding effort on higher ground - deferring rebuilding of the worst-hit areas.

A tale of two cities

Some residents feared the Urban Land Institute's recommendations would create a blueprint that eliminated mostly black neighbourhoods.

But the commission was to say that a powerful new public agency should be created to buy condemned homes and redevelop the most badly damaged areas.

Some areas of the city may not attract enough people back to form viable communities and in those cases the proposed redevelopment agency would buy out condemned homes.

Mayor Nagin is expected to have all of the proposals ready by 20 January.

It was estimated that the rebuilding effort outlined in the report would cost at least $17bn, with $12bn of that devoted to buying condemned properties.

Only a fifth of New Orleans' population of half a million has returned since the mass evacuations in the wake of the 29 August hurricane and subsequent flooding of the city.

Most people are living in areas that did not suffer flood damage and where services have been restored, yet vast swathes of the city hit by deep flooding are still without power.