Cityscapes of New Orleans

by Richard Campanella

Exploring the Crescent City from the ground up, Richard Campanella takes us on a winding journey toward explaining the city’s distinct urbanism and eccentricities. In Cityscapes of New Orleans, Campanella—a historical geographer and professor at Tulane University—reveals the why behind the where, delving into the historical and cultural forces that have shaped the spaces of New Orleans for over three centuries.For Campanella, every bewildering street grid and linguistic quirk has a story to tell about the landscape of Louisiana and the geography of its bestknown city. Cityscapes of New Orleans starts with an examination of neighborhoods, from the origins of faubourgs and wards to the impact of the slave trade on patterns of residence. Campanella explains how fragments of New Orleans streets continue to elude Google Maps and why humble Creole cottages sit alongside massive Greek Revival mansions. He considers the roles of modern urban planning, environmentalism, and preservation, all of which continue to influence the layout of the city and its suburbs. In the book’s final section, Campanella explores the impact of natural disasters as well-known as Hurricane Katrina and as unfamiliar as “Sauvé’s Crevasse,” an 1849 levee break that flooded over two hundred city blocks.Cityscapes of New Orleans offers a wealth of perspectives for uninitiated visitors and transplanted citizens still confounded by terms like “neutral ground,” as well as native-born New Orleanians trying to understand the Canal Street Sinkhole. Campanella shows us a vibrant metropolis with stories around every corner.

Genres: History, Geography, Nonfiction

604 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 10, 2017

Reviews

[Redsteve · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fascinating book on New Orleans and can be enjoyed from its historical perspective or just in terms of finding out why many of the curious features of the city are the way they are. While some of the essays' subjects are pretty obscure, this books still works for the general reader as you can just skip articles that don't interest you. As a NOLA resident and history buff, I found this book fascinating and was often shocked by details that I had literally never heard of. Campanella's style is easy to read and not scholarly or dry, but not in any way dumbed down so I feel like he hit the sweet spot on his subject. NOTE: The articles in the book do not necessarily appear in the order that they were published (and originally appeared in several different publications) so there is occasionally some repetition and sometimes information is out of order (At several points I was, "Wait, what does this term mean?" Only to have it explained in a later article). But it's not a major concern. Solid 4 stars.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's marvelous when a person with niche specialty knowledge is also a wonderful writer. Widely published and praised, Richard Campanella is a joy to read. His writing is enthusiastic and articulate. This excellent and extensive book provides a history of the architecture of New Orleans and a detailed analysis of the ways in which the city's geographical, social, and political history shaped its physical spaces. Campanella organizes the book by subject, so having a baseline knowledge of the chronological history New Orleans is helpful when reading this.

[Rob Edwards · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such an informative & fascinating collection of columns and essays! I’d picked this up on our final day of vacation in NOLA at the 1850 House on Jackson Square… I only wish I’d had it before our trip… our visit to the Crescent City would’ve been a bit different … and my spouse may have gotten sick of me spouting all of the interesting facts and stories I’d learned…
Along with one of my hometown heroes - Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Inga Saffron - Mr Campanella has become one of my favorite city historians/columnists… time to track down more of his work!

[John Brissette · Rating 5 out of 5]

Admittedly, I’m a history buff. So this book is right up my alley. But somehow, it never reads like a “history book”. Well written, academic yet impassioned, smart, often clever, and sometimes funny. I loved it. The fact that I could step outside my New Orleans home and wander the very streets Richard Campanella discusses, see the structures referred to, and get a feel for the living history of the city around me, the city of my heart, my home, makes it magical.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm on a Campanella kick and reading through his books about New Orleans (geography, history, etc.). I think this is a great place to start - it's basically a collection of his shorter works (newspaper articles, very short articles, etc.). So it's not so much one coherent book so much as a collection of short essays on a number of topics. It's basically a good introduction to New Orleans. There's a section on geography, architecture, urban planning, disasters, etc.

[Autumn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some interesting and compelling essays, though as a non-local and non-geographer, I found several sections somewhat inaccessible. I suspect New Orleans historians and those in planning would find this book thought-provoking.

[Leighton Riess · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting retelling of the history of New Orleans and how its cityscapes have developed and changed over time. It’s very dense, so I had to be in the right mindset to read it. Images were helpful, but I wish there were more maps to refer to in the book while reading.

[Juliana · Rating 4 out of 5]

meandering, nice. like the place.