Programs

The Office of Resilience & Sustainability leads policy development, implementation, and outreach for many resilience-building projects throughout the city.

Learn more about our different programs related to adaptation and nature-based solutions, energy, transportation, and waste and recycling.

Adopt a Catch Basin

The City’s Adopt a Catch Basin program enables residents to participate in this effort by adopting a catch basin in their neighborhood. Many residents want to adopt their catch basin to reduce the likelihood of flooding in their neighborhoods.

Agriculture Street Landfill Solar Park

Gordon Plaza is one of the subdivisions developed on the former landfill. For many years, the residents of Gordon Plaza have petitioned the City of New Orleans to buy their properties and pay for moving costs to homes outside of the Desire neighborhood. The Mayor’s Office established the Gordon Plaza Task Force for which meetings were convened by City Council of New Orleans.

Bayou Bienvenue Wetland Restoration

The Bayou Bienvenue wetlands extend from the Lower 9th Ward in the City of New Orleans to the Lake Borgne Surge Barrier. The wetlands and surrounding communities were heavily damaged by Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and have been identified as a priority restoration project in Louisiana’s Coastal Master Plan.

Blue Bikes Program

The City of New Orleans, in partnership with the local non-profit Blue Krewe, relauched Blue Bikes on August 23, 2021 with a new fleet of over 500 pedal-assist e-bikes. Residents and visitors can access bike share by downloading the Blue Bikes Nola app.

Benchmarking & Building Performance Standards

Some of the most energy-consuming structures in New Orleans are large commercial buildings. In 2018, the City launched a Downtown Energy Challenge with the Downtown Development District to encourage large buildings to track their energy use, known as “benchmarking,” and take steps to reduce it.

Christmas Tree Recycling

The New Orleans Christmas Tree Recycling Program, a 25-year partnership between the city, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and Louisiana Army National Guard, collects residents' Christmas trees each January. These trees are placed in the Bayou Sauvage Urban National Wildlife Refuge to protect the marsh, reduce erosion, and create habitats for local wildlife.

Complete Streets Program

Complete Streets is an approach to creating a more comprehensive and integrated transportation network that balances the needs of all users traveling in the public right-of-way, including people walking, bicycling, driving, and using transit.

Gentilly Resilience District

Green Infrastructure Toolkit

The Green Infrastructure Toolkit is currently under development by ORS in conjunction with Dana Brown & Associates. The GI Toolkit will encompass design standards and specification for Green infrastructure related projects as well as stormwater permit submissions. These details will include Standard Engineering details needed to properly design and Green Infrastructure project.

Hydrologic and Hydraulic (H&H) Studies

ORS is currently undertaking three drainage studies, commonly referred to as Hydrologic and Hydraulic (H&H) Studies, which aims to develop a comprehensive conceptual design focusing on feasible, high-quality, fair, and cost-effective solutions for the project area. These studies delineate specific watersheds within a pump station basin, enabling a more detailed analysis of the neighborhood.

Lincoln Beach Redevelopment

Pollution Prevention

The City of New Orleans is responsible for maintaining and testing the groundwater for potential pollution for several closed landfills and incinerator sites which it owns. These sites were used to receive municipal solid waste.

Safe Streets for All

Death and injury on our city streets can be dramatically reduced or minimized by creating better public spaces. Public safety is a top priority for the Cantrell Administration. With the leadership of the Department of Public Works and Office of Resilience & Sustainability, New Orleans officially embraces a new commitment to dramatically increase the safety of the City’s streets.

Slow Streets Intiative

The Slow Streets initiative is a collaboration between the City's Health Department, the Department of Public Works and ORS. This temporary traffic modification is being implemented as part of the City’s COVID-19 response under the Slow Streets initiative, which aims to provide additional space for safe social distancing where crowding occurs.

Solar for All

The Solar for All program aims to connect residents of New Orleans to affordable solar and battery leasing and purchasing options that will lower energy bills and residential carbon footprints, while also improving electric reliability and resilience in the face of extreme weather events.

Recycle Dat: Mardi Gras Recycling

The City of New Orleans in partnership with New Orleans & Company, Grounds Krewe, and several local organizations launched a pilot program in 2023 to make Mardi Gras more sustainable. With the help of the Recycle Dat Coalition partners, the City recycled 1,475 pounds of aluminum, 1,500 pounds of glass, and 11,535 pounds of Mardi Gras beads and throws during the 2023 Carnival Season.

Urban Reforestation

Trees can act as a natural solution to many of the issues New Orleans faces, from retaining stormwater to reducing urban heat and the “heat island effect”. Unfortunately, Hurricane Katrina devastated the urban canopy, with some estimates of the number of lost trees upwards of 200,000.

Search and Find Permits

Brake & Bike Tags

Contractor Info For Residents

Permits & Licenses

Permitting Help & Support