Case Study: New Orleans Pilot

This case study provides an overview of a community port collaboration pilot project conducted in New Orleans over roughly a one-year period starting in 2016. In addition to New Orleans, pilot projects were conducted in Savannah, Seattle and Providence and were collectively known as the Near-Port Community Capacity Building Project. Pilot communities received technical assistance and utilized the draft CommunityPort Collaboration Toolkit developed as part of the EPA Ports Initiative.

The Port of New Orleans (Port NOLA), in collaboration with the Deep South Center for Environmental Justice (DSCEJ) and the Lower 9th Ward Center for Sustainable Engagement and Development (CSED), applied to participate in the pilot program to build collaborative relationships between the port and near-port communities. Together, these partners hoped to work with the local near-port communities to identify issues of signifcance to both community residents and the port and to rebuild trust and efective working relationships between nearby residents and port leaders.