The Case for Car-Free Space in New Orleans' French Quarter

At the mouth of the Mississippi River, New Orleans’ French Quarter is one of North America’s most distinctive historic neighborhoods. With its well-preserved mix of building styles and iconic public spaces like Bourbon Street, it is also a place clogged with traffic and parked cars and marred by vehicular violence. In this hour-long special, we take a close look at urbanism in the Crescent City’s most famous neighborhood, making the case for pedestrianization in New Orleans’ French Quarter. Further Reading: My presentation of New Orleans’ history is heavily indebted to the work of Richard Campanella, the city’s foremost historical geographer. Particularly helpful to my research for this video were Cityscapes of New Orleans (2017) and Bourbon Street: A History (2014). “Hating Bourbon Street” (2014, https://placesjournal.org/article/hat..., is essential reading for understanding tourism and vice in the French Quarter, and incidentally, made me love Bourbon Street. Bienville's Dilemma: A Historical Geography of New Orleans (2008) is Campanella’s thorough introduction to the city’s urban development (though I did not have it on hand for the writing of this script). Related Videos: Street Design in Puebla, Mexico:    • Building Streets for People in Puebla, Mexico   Essential Public Spaces of Mexico City's Centro Histórico [Part 1]:    • Urban Design in North America's Greatest N...   Transit & Mobility in Mexico City's Centro Histórico [Part 2]:    • The Mobility Quagmire at the Center of Mex...   Aztec Barrios of Mexico City's Centro Histórico [Part 3]:    • 700-Year-Old Urbanism in Mexico City’s Azt...   Urbanism on the Maya Gulf:    • Car-free Urbanism in Mexico’s Maya Lowland...   Street Design in São Paulo:    • In São Paulo’s Concrete Jungle, An Urbanis...   Transit & Public Spaces in Guadalajara:    • Guadalajara’s Masterclass in Transit & Urb...   Rio de Janeiro's Modern Trams:    • Is This The Americas' Best-Designed Tram?   Sources: “How attacker was able to drive down Bourbon Street in truck”: https://www.nola.com/news/crime_polic... NOPD Chief Anne Kirkpatrick hit pedestrians with police car”: https://www.nola.com/news/crime_polic... New Orleans Citywide Public Safety Improvements (2017 Plan outlining strategy for movable bollards on Bourbon Street): https://static1.squarespace.com/stati... French Quarter Safety and Security Traffic Study (2017 study detailing approach to bollards on Bourbon Street): https://roadwork.nola.gov/roadwork/me... New Orleans Major Event Review and Security Recommendations (2025 Report following January 1st Truck Attack, including recommendation to “Restructure Bourbon Street as a Permanent Pedestrian Plaza” on page 10): https://nopjf.org/wp-content/uploads/... Disappearing traffic? The story so far: https://nacto.org/wp-content/uploads/... “Bourbon Street won't go pedestrian, long closures possible”: https://www.nola.com/gambit/news/the_... Closing Streets and Alleys to Reduce Crime: https://portal.cops.usdoj.gov/resourc... Creating Defensible Space: Mini-neighborhoods in Five Oaks, Dayton, Ohio: https://www.huduser.gov/portal/public... Chapters: 0:00 The French Quarter 2:33 My New Orleans Story 3:49 History, Empire, and Architecture 7:41 Preservation Movement and the Vieux Carré Commission 10:32 Car-Centric Street Design 13:01 Map Overview 14:31 Jackson Square 15:58 Accessibility 17:06 Riverfront 18:32 Canal Street and the CBD 20:30 Bourbon Street 22:45 The Truck Attack 26:01 What To Do Now? 28:08 Why Pedestrianization Doesn’t Make Traffic Worse 29:38 Elements of a Great Pedestrian Street 32:58 Residential Streets Need Not be Pedestrianized 33:41 Cross Street Closures 36:20 Royal and Chartres Streets 40:07 Traffic Calming for Residential Streets 41:41 Less Car Access Means Less Crime 43:39 Frenchmen Street and the Marigny 44:39 Tremé + Congo Square 46:56 Transit + Mobility 49:32 Locals or Tourists? 50:55 New Orleans Can Do This! Filmed in New Orleans in October 2024 and May 2025.