Chicago and New Orleans: opposite ends of a great river

This paper considers the contrasting and deliberate efforts to reshape the Tluvial futures of two important American cities which essentially re-wrote their riparian heritages. Chicago’s aggressive extension of its commercial reach through its artiTicial connection with the Mississippi has become em...

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Bibliographic Details
Author: Colten, Craig Edward
Format: article
Status:Published version
Publication Date:2017
Country:Brasil
Institution:Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP)
Repository:Labor & Engenho (Online)
Language:English
OAI Identifier:oai:ojs.periodicos.sbu.unicamp.br:article/8649744
Online Access:https://periodicos.sbu.unicamp.br/ojs/index.php/labore/article/view/8649744
Access Level:Open access
Keyword:River. Urban infrastructure. Chicago. New Orleans.
Description
Summary:This paper considers the contrasting and deliberate efforts to reshape the Tluvial futures of two important American cities which essentially re-wrote their riparian heritages. Chicago’s aggressive extension of its commercial reach through its artiTicial connection with the Mississippi has become embodied in its environmental, political, and literary history. Conversely, New Orleans crafted a defensive local culture in its environmental history, politics, and literature. The contrasting investments in river-altering infrastructure and urban relationships with the one river expose the signiTicance of each city’s position within a watershed and in shaping its respective cultural history and its identity.