The committee has spent several months drawing up plans on how to rebuild and revitalise housing, business and transport in the flood-devastated city.
Their report also outlines plans for how levees and flood defences will be shored up and improved to prevent large-scale floods happening again.
FLOOD DEFENCES
The US Army Corps of Engineers aims to have temporary repairs to New Orleans flood defences complete by June, when the next hurricane season starts.
The Bush administration has promised some $3.1bn (£1.7bn) towards repairs and limited improvements of flood defences over the next few years.
Many local officials want the city's storm protection system upgraded to the extent that it can withstand a Category 5 storm - the strongest possible hurricane.
The commission calls for a "comprehensive system with multiple lines of defence to protect the city".
It outlines a need for perimeter levees, improved pumping system, flood gates, internal levees with separate pumps, and the restoration of coastal wetlands to absorb the worst of future storm surges.
A storm barrier would be installed on 17th Street Canal, which suffered a 465ft (141 metres) wide breach in its floodwalls in the aftermath of Katrina causing some of the worst flooding.
The Mississippi River Gulf Outlet was built in the 1960s to allow ships easier access to the Gulf of Mexico via the Port of New Orleans.
However, what was once a 300ft (91 metres) wide channel has been expanded to a width of some 3,000ft, (914 metres) through a combination of the natural action of passing ships and deliberate widening to allow larger vessels to use it.
This canal allowed Katrina's storm surge to penetrate the heart of the city. Reducing its size - or closing it altogether - are being actively considered.
NEIGHBOURHOOD REDEVELOPMENT
The commission report divides the city into three types of area according to severity of flood damage.
Immediate Opportunity Areas have little or no flood damage. The report recommends that reconstruction can begin there immediately under existing planning regulations. To assist with recovery, city authorities will:
Neighbourhood Planning Areas contain severely damaged properties. The report suggests that a full planning and consultation process takes place to decide on the future of each, beginning on 20 February.
Infill Development Zones are private and publicly-owned land containing run-down properties on high ground which can be developed for housing and commercial use.
Within these are Target Development Areas, where the committee specifically recommends that "financially responsible" developers are found to build large numbers of houses as a priority.
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