--- title: Hurricane Katrina Anniversary: Storm Led To Green Building description: A slew of nonprofits have committed millions of dollars to support the the sustainable construction of green homes in the city canonical: https://time.com/4014281/katrina-green-building/ author: Justin Worland article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-08-28T16:37:36.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:58:01.184Z article:section: Science og:title: Hurricane Katrina Anniversary: Storm Led To Green Building og:description: A slew of nonprofits have committed millions of dollars to support the the sustainable construction of green homes in the city og:url: https://time.com/4014281/katrina-green-building/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc3b0bdc53e842aa4/698861388e06012c3c46217b/new-orleans2.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 5184 og:image:height: 2916 og:image:alt: Katrina Changing City New Orleans og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Hurricane Katrina Anniversary: Storm Led To Green Building twitter:description: A slew of nonprofits have committed millions of dollars to support the the sustainable construction of green homes in the city twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc3b0bdc53e842aa4/698861388e06012c3c46217b/new-orleans2.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # The Green Rebuilding of Post-Katrina New Orleans > Sponsored content. 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It reaches 40,000 subscribers with a 34.2% open rate and a 2.1% click rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I follow the energy transition as a business story? Future Proof covers climate and energy as an economic and business story rather than only an environmental one. It publishes every Friday and is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who writes Future Proof? Justin Worland, a senior correspondent at TIME and an award-winning climate journalist, writes Future Proof. #### Is Future Proof free? Yes. Future Proof is free at time.com/newsletters. ## Video: The Potential Watercooler Moments of the 2015 MTV VMAs [Watch (HLS stream): The Potential Watercooler Moments of the 2015 MTV VMAs](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/UkVfmGtr.m3u8) (1:48)  _Published 2015-08-27. The MTV Video Music Awards are Sunday and there are a few potential watercooler moments we're already anticipating._  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Aug 28, 2015 4:37 PM UTC  Empty lots and new buildings dot the Lower 9th Ward section of New Orleans on July 29, 2015. Empty lots and new buildings dot the Lower 9th Ward section of New Orleans on July 29, 2015. Gerald Herbert—AP  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Aug 28, 2015 4:37 PM UTC When Hurricane Katrina rocked the Gulf Coast in 2005, displacing hundreds of thousands of residents, many wondered what shape a rebuilt city would take—or whether restoring the city would be possible at all. But some experts saw an opportunity in the catastrophe of New Orleans. In the aftermath of the storm, a slew of nonprofits committed millions of dollars to support the construction of green homes in the city, which in turn prompted a green building trend in the city. Now, 10 years late, green building experts say the work rebuilding there can serve as a model for other communities. The Make it Right Foundation, founded by the actor Brad Pitt, has built more than 100 homes in the hard-hit Lower Ninth Ward for local residents. The residences built by the foundation included solar panels that reduce energy use from external sources and countertops made from recycled materials. All the homes were built to LEED Platinum certification standards, the highest-level designation for sustainable building offered by the U.S. Green Building Council. Green building offers low-income homeowners an opportunity to cut energy costs, says Make it Right senior advisor Taylor Royle. Green homes in New Orleans tend to have energy bills of around $30 per month, including gas and electricity, compared to more than $100 in conventional homes. Green building materials, which often replace materials that exacerbate respiratory disease, can also improve environmental health, especially in low-income communities where asthma is particularly prevalent. “It’s not just because someone in the environmental community believes in green building,” said Royle. “Green building means lower bills, fewer trips to the hospital for children with asthma.” The green building group Global Green has become a lasting presence in local New Orleans communities, offering workshops on green building and inspecting homes to help identify cost-effective improvements, says Michelle Pyne, a senior staffer in New Orleans for Global Green. Global Green has also moved beyond building green homes to advocate for public policy that encourages green building in the public sector and other solutions to make building in the region more sustainable. New Orleans public schools—110 of which were severely damaged—now have sustainability programs and any new schools must be built to at least LEED Silver standards, Pyne said. In addition to offering cost-saving and environmental benefits, green homes in the city have been built to better withstand hurricanes. Make it Right, for instance, builds homes elevated 5 or 8 feet off the ground. All homes include roof access to ensure that residents aren’t trapped in the attic during a flooding situation—as happened during Katrina. New Orleans has done much to prepare the city itself for the next hurricane, with a $14.5 billion, but homes that are themselves equipped to withstand storms and flooding is also a key element in preparation. Indeed, Louisiana’s master plan, which provides guidelines for how to protect the city from future natural disasters, includes provisions to help fund elevated homes for homeowners who may not be able to afford the expense. “Every dollar up front is more effective than five spent after the fact,” said Mike Foley, CEO of insurance company Zurich North America Commercial. “We need to shift the conversation from one of recovery to one of resilience.” _Read next:_ [_New Orleans, Here & Now_](http://time.com/new-orleans-here-and-now?iid=time%5Freadnext) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4014281/katrina-green-building/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4014281/katrina-green-building/"},"headline":"The Green Rebuilding of Post-Katrina New Orleans","datePublished":"2015-08-28T16:37:36.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:58:01.184Z","description":"'Green building means lower bills, fewer trips to the hospital for children with asthma'","url":"https://time.com/4014281/katrina-green-building/","keywords":["climate change","Natural Disasters"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc3b0bdc53e842aa4/698861388e06012c3c46217b/new-orleans2.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Justin Worland","jobTitle":"Senior Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/justin-worland/"}],"articleSection":"Science","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc3b0bdc53e842aa4/698861388e06012c3c46217b/new-orleans2.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Katrina Changing City New Orleans","caption":"Katrina Changing City New Orleans","creditText":"Gerald Herbert—AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/science/","name":"Science"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/climate-change/","name":"climate change"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4014281/katrina-green-building/","name":"The Green Rebuilding of Post-Katrina New Orleans"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"The Potential Watercooler Moments of the 2015 MTV VMAs","description":"The MTV Video Music Awards are Sunday and there are a few potential watercooler moments we're already anticipating.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/UkVfmGtr/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2015-08-27T16:06:20.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/UkVfmGtr.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4014281/katrina-green-building/","duration":"PT1M48S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4014281/katrina-green-building/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```