Housing and gentrification in New Orleans: Through the eyes of a native

On March 15th, 2019, Harry Bruns sat down with me to discuss his experiences as a New Orleans resident. Harry Bruns is a native New Orleanian born and raised in Lakeview. He recently took the position of Director of Retail at Habitat for Humanity New Orleans. Habitat for Humanity is a nonprofit with various local divisions whose mission is to help families build and improve homes. Through his direct experience working to resolve the housing crisis in New Orleans with Habitat for Humanity as well as his time growing up and living in a New Orleans, Bruns offers a unique and informed perspective on housing and gentrification in New Orleans from 300 years ago to today.

I began my interview with Bruns by asking him what initially drew him to Habitat for Humanity; he responded: “I had done Habitat builds before as a volunteer and had done a number of builds post-Katrina… And what drew me to Habitat was that, unlike any of the other organizations I volunteered with or worked with […], they have a substantial sweat-equity component where families that will be in the houses [are actually] required to volunteer either to work in the stores – with me – or to [work] on the construction of their own home.”Bruns explained the importance of helping the community not just through hand-outs but rather by helping families obtain the means to manifest housing for themselves. He follows up by sharing: “The other thing I very much enjoy about this organization is that they pay themselves very little… and they pay me very little… But I’ve been part of other organizations where the administrative overhead is much more than I’m comfortable with.” It’s clear that Bruns’ selflessness, generosity, and dedication to New Orleans, a city he has expressed so much love towards, is demonstrated through his expression of the very components that attracted him to his position as Director of Retail.

Bruns described another key aspect of Habitat for Humanity that he repeatedly referenced and emphasized throughout our time together. He explained that many people recognize the systemic problems of New Orleans, including housing, yet, he notes that: “there are a lot of folks who will talk about how they feel about how awful things are… the folks who run this Habitat [for Humanity]: act upon it, and act decisively.” He describes this as one of the main qualities of Habitat for Humanity that drove and continues to drive his involvement with the organization – “these folks make things happen” while maintaining and honoring the integrity and culture of New Orleans. Nonetheless, Bruns demonstrates some of the common perceptions of who is to blame for the housing crisis in New Orleans: “We came back about 12 years ago when I retired, and I looked for an opportunity to do something like I’m doing now – to do my part to preserve what this city is. What you’ll hear [from] the cynical people who have grown up here is the nonstop complaining of the latest wave of immigrants – which is, of course, not based on ethnicity – it’s based on whether they’re hipsters or [regular] people…”

This led me to prompt Bruns to share his opinions on the gentrification of New Orleans and how that has affected the availability of affordable housing. He began by explaining that while housing could be considered a crisis here, the challenges of “incorporating each new wave of immigrants into the city” have existed for the 300 years of New Orleans existence. He explains: “So, with each new wave of immigrants, the prior waves would use it as an opportunity to replace themselves on the bottom rung of society. So, the French would suppress the Spanish, who would suppress the Italians, the Germans, the Irish; to the point that the divisiveness based on ethnicity was so bad that each different ethnic group as they arrived would build their own Catholic Church.” The gentrification of the city can be perceived as the mark made on New Orleans by the newest wave of immigrants – the most recent wave being hipsters. He continues, “[They’re] just another wave of immigrants to me, and they bring something great to the city. They bring annoying things to the city, but that’s okay. They’ll eventually melt into us; and in many ways, they’ll make us better; and in most ways, we’ll improve them.” Bruns’ positive and lighthearted outlook on gentrification and the newest members of the community is certainly refreshing and indicative of his tolerance and dedication towards the city and its future.

In the same vein of gentrification, I asked Bruns how he’s seen New Orleans evolve and whether he believes it’s done so positively or negatively. Bruns shared that gentrification has, in fact, been integral to the development and evolution of of New Orleans since its founding 300 years ago. He uses the French, Spanish, and American immigrants and their respective architectural styles as an example of this concept of expansion and gentrification: “Their tradition, their architecture, and their gentrification of areas that were previously pasture land – places like up near Tulane. [Residents at the time reacted with fear and concern]: ‘those people are building on the farmland… what will we ever do? There will be no more room for us.’ And it was just… this is just another period of bemoaning change that ultimately will be for the better.” Bruns takes a more long-term approach to his perception of gentrification today and demonstrates the “issue” in a contextualized way.

Bruns highlights the root of the housing crisis in New Orleans. When I had asked if he sees gentrification as the root of the housing crisis, he explained: “One of the things that have been problematic, is the drastic uptick of short-term rentals. Only really though, in the sense that where there were short-term rentals – where people were not limited to the number of nights, they could rent, or were not living in part of the house. […] So that’s had an impact on eroding some neighborhoods, because they’ll let anybody stay there, and they’re everywhere in the city. So, I think there’s a happy medium there, but we’re not there yet. […] When you look at what’s driving the lack of affordable housing, in some very historic neighborhoods; it’s not really the gentrification. It is the land speculation of short-term landlords. [For example,] if I know that I can get $500-a-night, $300-a-night, for Jazzfest; why on earth, would I bother to rent to someone long-term when I’m not sure how well they’re going to be able to pay me?” In essence, Bruns is not villainizing anyone – even the people who can be traced back to the source of the problem. Instead, he presents the issue of housing in a diplomatic way and alludes to a systemic problem as opposed to blaming individuals.

All in all, Bruns offered a refreshing perspective on gentrification and housing issues through a holistic approach to the problem. His time spent in the city, his work directly with housing issues through Habitat for Humanity, and his keen understanding of the city’s historical and cultural nuances, I believe, validates his opinions and makes him a truly insightful source of information on these topics.