The Wall Between the City and the Water
Every city has its defining feature — New York has its skyline, San Francisco has its bridge, Paris has its tower. New Orleans has the levee. It's not glamorous. It's not photogenic in the way that architecture or cuisine are photogenic. But the levee is the single most important structure in the city, the earthen wall that stands between six feet below sea level and the Mississippi River that wants nothing more than to reclaim the land it created.
Walk up the grassy slope of the levee along the river in the French Quarter or Uptown or anywhere along its miles-long stretch, and you're standing on the most consequential piece of infrastructure in New Orleans. On one side, the city goes about its business — houses, restaurants, churches, schools. On the other side, the Mississippi rolls past, its surface often higher than the streets behind the levee. The river is literally above you. The levee is the only thing preventing the obvious from happening.
The Pompeii of the Gulf Coast
New Orleanians have a complicated relationship with the levee. It's a source of both security and anxiety, a reminder that the city exists in defiance of geography. Some locals call New Orleans the "Pompeii of the Gulf Coast" — a city built in a place that nature periodically tries to take back, protected by human engineering that must hold against forces that are patient, powerful, and eternal.
The levee system around New Orleans is vast — hundreds of miles of earthen embankments, concrete floodwalls, and pumping stations that keep the city dry. After Hurricane Katrina in 2005, when catastrophic levee failures flooded 80 percent of the city, the federal government invested billions in upgrading the system. The new levees are stronger, higher, and better engineered. But everyone in New Orleans knows that the relationship between city and water is ongoing, and that the levee is a promise, not a guarantee.
A Walk on the Levee
For all its existential weight, the levee is also one of the best places to take a walk. The riverside of the levee — particularly along the stretch behind Audubon Park, through the French Quarter, and along the Marigny — offers elevated views of both the river and the city. You can watch ships pass at eye level, see the sun set over the West Bank, and get a sense of the city's geography that's impossible to appreciate from street level.
The levee is both buffer protection and elevated vantage point, a place where you can look in one direction and see the past — the river that brought the French, the Spanish, the enslaved, the immigrants, the music, the food — and look in the other direction and see the present, the city they all built together on borrowed land below borrowed water.
Frequently Asked Questions About the Levee
Why does New Orleans need levees?
New Orleans sits largely below sea level, with the Mississippi River and Lake Pontchartrain on either side. Without the levee system, most of the city would flood. The levees are the essential infrastructure that makes habitation possible.
What happened to the levees during Hurricane Katrina?
During Hurricane Katrina in 2005, multiple levee and floodwall failures caused catastrophic flooding across approximately 80 percent of the city. The federal government subsequently invested billions in upgrading the entire levee system.
Can you walk on the levee?
Yes. Many sections of the levee along the Mississippi River are accessible for walking, jogging, and cycling. Popular stretches include the areas near Audubon Park, the French Quarter, and the Marigny neighborhood.
How high are the levees in New Orleans?
Levee heights vary throughout the system, but many sections along the Mississippi River rise 20 feet or more above the surrounding streets. After post-Katrina upgrades, the hurricane protection system is designed to withstand a 100-year storm event.
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