Anderson also notes that, since Katrina, the neighborhoods have “risen up.” They are developing plans that have addressed affordable housing. Anderson observes, “People are surprised… the neighborhoods want mixed incomes. Many [elected officials] greatly underestimated what people were thinking.” Anderson explains, “for a long time the city talked about neighborhood voices, but it never translated in a positive way. Now neighborhood voices will be heard in the planning process.
“I’m motivated by…having even one family move from substandard housing to home ownership,” Anderson comments. “I want to urge the people across the country to stick with us. If we can change the dynamics and the structures, if we can change this city over time to a place where residents have avenues to opportunity so that our children aren’t trapped, I’ll die happy.”
On leading as a woman in the midst of an urban old boy’s network Una Anderson navigates the still largely male dominated world of contractors, developers and finance. Working at City Hall for five years was a life lesson in effectively dealing with the good old boy network. Anderson says, “As a woman, I learned how to get things done even through ‘Oh, here comes the little lady.’ I found a way to be effective even when confronted by the urban old boy network. It was by being very straightforward and aggressive. I shocked them into a new way of thinking.”
Anderson notes that her challenges are easy compared to the community that concerns her the most: African American women living in poverty. Anderson states, “Pre-Katrina, one of the greatest tragedies was the entrapment of single mothers with children in poverty. It is a double bottom-line to change how we treat race and gender… If you can get a single mom with kids into home ownership, the children do better in school, there is more stability, and the mother is better able to hold a job.”
Expanding what community means Anderson says, “Katrina expanded the comfort level of what community meant for a lot of people. Before, my comfort level was the uptown side of Canal Street, now it’s bigger. There is more a sense of the city together…Now we talk about race and class. There are more up front conversations about race and class, and more people are involved in moving the city forward. We are more together as a city now because we all experienced Katrina. We are more unified as a city. It’s an opportunity that not a lot of cities get.”
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