Brad Pitt, New Orleans and Change

During the anniversary of Katrina this year, presidential candidates talked about re-building in New Orleans. The President himself visited. Promises were made by President Bush, mainly, "The federal government would learn the lessons of Katrina, we would do what it takes, and we would stay as long as it takes, to help our brothers and sisters build a new Gulf Coast where every citizen feels part of the great promise of America."

Promises are just that, speeches are the same - action has never really followed, nor promises fulfilled. Often, a friend that I met and others tell me, that when you actually go through the neighborhoods, other than the French Quarter - it looks the same as it was three years ago. Nothing has changed.

Currently, though, there has been a swell of change - and the color is pink. The person behind it may be familiar: Brad Pitt. Pitt decided to act rather than sit on the sidelines and complain about the slow process of re-building, and teamed up with green-builder William McDonough. Together they formed Make It Right and The Pink Project.

Make It Right intends to build 150 new houses in the lower Nineth ward. Pitt and company has asked and received help from 13 architect firms, numerous home designs and a lot of help from the American people.

The houses to be built take the storm into consideration, and raise the bar on the rebuilding process. The architects were asked to design a 1,200 sq. ft. house with a budget of $150,000, and the project would help with arranging the financing. One design team opted for a lightweight concrete foundation, anchored by two pylons, so that if another flood came through like Katrina, the house would float.

Find out more at Make It Right

Cheers - Christian Messer