This video describes how human-made seawalls, levees, and water pumps have caused New Orleans to sink below sea level over the past century.
The video highlights the disproportionate effect this has had on low-income and minority neighborhoods.
The video ends by discussing neighborhood and city-wide initiatives used to reduce the risk of flooding in New Orleans.
Teaching Tips
Positives
The video draws attention to a variety of injustices, especially those affecting black communities.
The video can be used in a wide variety of subjects, as it connects science, history, geography, and social-justice issues.
Additional Prerequisites
Students should be familiar with the location of New Orleans and the Mississippi River.
It may be helpful to introduce students to basic concepts such as groundwater, infiltration, and subsidence.
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Differentiation
This resource could be used in a science class to discuss unique characteristics of river deltas or to demonstrate the need for nature-based solutions to flooding.
This resource could be used in a geography or history class to discuss how settlement patterns were shaped by the natural geography of the area.
This video could be used to introduce a conversation about environmental justice issues in New Orleans and beyond along with this personal narrative.
As the climate continues to warm, more and more people are at risk of flooding. This video resource uses New Orleans as an example of how one city is both mitigating and adapting to the risks of flooding. This resource is recommended for teaching.
Standards
Science and Engineering
ESS3: Earth and Human Activity
MS-ESS3-3 Apply scientific principles to design a method for monitoring and minimizing a human impact on the environment.
HS-ESS3-4 Evaluate or refine a technological solution that reduces impacts of human activities on natural systems.
English Language Arts
Speaking and Listening (K-12)
SL.6-8.2 Integrate and evaluate information presented in diverse media and formats, including point of view, reasoning, and use of evidence and rhetoric.
Social Studies
Geography
Geography 1 (D2): Students understand the geography of the community, Maine, the United States, and various regions of the world, and geographic influences on life in the past, present, and future by describing the impact of change on the physical and cultural environment.
Geography 1 (F2): Students understand the geography of the United States and various regions of the world and the effect of geographic influences on decisions about the present and future by evaluating and developing a well-supported position about the impact of change on the physical and cultural environment.
History
History 1 (D2): Students understand major eras, major enduring themes, and historic influences in United States and world history, including the roots of democratic philosophy, ideals, and institutions in the world by analyzing and critiquing major historical eras: major enduring themes, turning points, events, consequences, and people in the history of the world and the implications for the present and future.
