New Orleans 100: A Look at the Good Since Katrina

What city is home to the largest international contemporary art biennial ever in America?  Hint: it's the only city with a government department of "Social Entrepreneurship."  Most will guess New York or San Francisco. But the answer is New Orleans.  Surprised?  So were we, but as we approach the three year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, we're highlighting the leaders in New Orleans making their GOOD ideas happen.  We caught up with Jerri Chou of All Day Buffet, to learn more about the Big Easy, social innovation, and the New Orleans 100 project (an online collection of the 100 most innovative post-Katrina ideas).

With so much focus placed on the negative in New Orleans, Jerri thinks that it's time to start focusing on the positive.  She shares,  "In the run-up to the 3rd anniversary of Katrina, much media attention has been and will be paid to how far the city hasn't come.  In the vacuum of responsible government aid, a swath of creative individuals (local and transplanted) have filled the void and, in the process, have turned New Orleans into one of the move innovative cities in America. The story has remained as far outside the mainstream media as it has mainstream practices."

While discussing the new New Orleans, Jerri sheds light on the New Orleans 100 project and what we can do to make a difference: "The New Orleans 100 is a worldwide initiative that will highlight and encourage discussion among millions about 100 of the most innovative and world-changing ideas to take root in the city since Katrina.  Share the love, because we’re relying on you masters of the internet, to help us change the perception of New Orleans, from busted to an inspiration. So blog, repost, email, digg, stumble, and anything else you can get your media savvy hands on to spread the word about and 1, 10, or all 100 of the projects featured. Everyone can make a difference.  All it takes is a click."

We believe in the power of a community with a bias- to-action, rooted in collaboration, and bursting with creativity and innovation.  Having been exposed to hundreds of ideas, Jerri highlights some of her favorites. "Upon taking a serious look at this list, our major metropolises actually begin to look a little conservative and cumbrous in comparison. Projects include everything from a company that turns bail bond profits into preschool program funding, to the world's first receivables exchange; from musicians poised to one-up Lil Wayne to the greenest of architecture firms.  3 years after Katrina, it is shocking how much has yet to be done and it's easy to criticize, especially where criticism is due. But maybe it's time to give New Orleans its identity back and stop focusing on what NOLA isn't in, favor of what it is - a vibrant and beautiful city with a future."

And if that wasn't enough, the global trends and innovation company, PSFK has conducted great interviews with some of the leaders from the list.  In his interview, Policypitch.com founder Zach Kupperman says, "New Orleans is the best place in the world.  There are really so many amazing and inspiring things about New Orleans; the city’s unique ability to accommodate people of different cultures and attitudes, the art - with creativity literally flowing throughout the city, the rich food, the music, the architecture, the smell of crawfish boils in the spring, the pace of life, the inimitable culture, and the general attitude of enjoying life to the fullest.  Perhaps most of all, I draw inspiration from the opportunity.  This opportunity lends itself to the city’s creative culture, the rising tide of entrepreneurialism, and the recent, exciting brain gain New Orleans has seen since the storm."

As a participant in the "New Orleans 100" project (effort to get 1M pageviews of the 100 innovative ideas in New Orleans), Behance is pleased to feature and interview the social innovators and changemakers in New Orleans.  The Behance Team commends All Day Buffet, and all other creative professionals that make ideas happen for the betterment of New Orleans.