Graboyes was one of the first full-time employees hired by the Broadmoor Development Corporation in the Broadmoor neighborhood of New Orleans. “I do whatever it takes to get residents back in their homes,” he explains. As the Housing Case Manager, he works one-on-one with residents to determine their housing needs and helps coordinate the services to meet them. He is responsible for surveying residents, identifying projects, hiring contractors, finding financial support, distributing donations, and working with city officials. On top of it all, Graboyes also works with the constant flow of volunteers pouring into Broadmoor, matching their skills with the needs of the community. It’s no wonder he’s logging 60-hour work weeks.

Many Broadmoor residents live in FEMA trailors while they wait for their homes to be renovated.

Graboyes was a junior at Hampshire College when Hurricane Katrina ripped through New Orleans. “It struck me as a great opportunity to make change,” said Graboyes, who majored in city planning and architecture. Immediately recognizing the city planning efforts necessary to rebuild New Orleans, Graboyes and two fellow classmates decided to travel there and document the planning process. They raised money to fund the trip and produce a documentary called Gritty City, in which they wanted to feature footage from the devastated city, interviews with key players in the rebuilding efforts, and the public announcement of the city’s first large-scale rebuilding plan.

In a letter soliciting funds for the project, Graboyes wrote, “We view ourselves as activists exploring a political, social, and cultural situation which has far-reaching and profound importance to the state of our country.… We hope to show the people of New Orleans that their tragedy and their future are true concerns, even for those of us as far away as Massachusetts.” Little did Graboyes know how the trip—and Katrina—would shape his future.

While in New Orleans, Graboyes and his friends met with several neighborhood organizations to investigate their role in the rebuilding process. “That’s where I noticed that real social change was happening,” said Graboyes. He was particularly interested in the work of the Broadmoor Improvement Association, a community organization with a long history of civic engagement.

A typical scene in Broadmoor, the restored home on the left is set among a block of abandoned houses. Although the neighborhood has made a lot of progress since Katrina hit, there is still lots of work to be done.

In the city’s initial post-Katrina rebuilding plan, Broadmoor, a historic neighborhood situated west of the French Quarter, was zoned as a drainage ditch. Its residents held a public demonstration in protest, and rallied together to save their neighborhood. Many residents returned to the area in January of 2006, occupying FEMA trailors or the second floor of their homes until they renovated the flooded ground level. By early summer, with the involvement of the entire community and help from outside organizations—including Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government—the Broadmoor Improvement Association had drafted a redevelopment plan of its own.

Graboyes was inspired by the community’s efforts. He continued to study the city’s revitalization, focusing on the process in his senior thesis, “Rebuilding New Orleans: Studies in City Planning.” He visited New Orleans five times during his senior year, and helped organize a Hampshire College volunteer trip in the spring of 2007. Graboyes knew his work in New Orleans was just beginning, so when he found out Broadmoor was hiring, he jumped at the chance to take the job in October of 2007.

Though Graboyes’ position only has funding for one year, the Shipley graduate thinks he’ll be there a lot longer. “For me, Broadmoor is incredibly meaningful,” he says. “It’s a model for what the city can do, what it can be.”

Watch Gritty City.

Copyright © 2008 The Shipley School, www.shipleyschool.org