The Lower Ninth is possibly the most famous political district in New Orleans. From Holy Cross High School to the Chalmette National Memorial and Battlefield this area has great promise but it's mostly unfulfilled. It flooded in Betsy and it flooded again in Katrina. If there is flooding in New Orleans it will be worse here.

This neighborhood was cutoff from the rest of the city in 1923 by the Industrial Canal. The Industrial Canal has been the source of flooding and will continue to promote flooding until the canal is isolated from Lake Pontchartrain by an earthen dam and protected from the east by closing Mr.GO and placing weirs and floodwalls in the GIWW.

In 2005 it was one of the poorest parts of town. Incomes averaged 50% of the national average. It is overwhelmingly African-American with 98% of the residents black. There were no public housing projects but lots of rentals under Section 8. Crime was a problem but there was a strong sense of community. This is one of the most damaged parts of the city and one of the areas that people most want to repopulate.

South of St. Claude Avenue you'll find a part of the lower ninth called the Holy Cross neighborhood. Named after the Catholic Boys High School that anchors the neighborhood, this area is nearer the river and thus on higher ground than the rest. News that the high school will move away (perhaps to Gentilly) further hinders recovery of the area.