How New Orleans Sank Below Sea Level (And What They're Doing About It)

• 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. 

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. 
• Other resources about sinking cities and sea level rise include Sinking Cities: New York, Inside a City Redesigned for Superstorms and Sea Level Rise, and Why Does Jakarta Flood So Easily?
• The lesson plan Disappearing Islands and Sinking Cities: Exploring Sea Level Rise Through States of Matter also discusses the issue of sinking cities and rising sea levels, but from a science and engineering perspective.