The residents of Biloxi, Miss., and 10 other cities along the Gulf Coast are striving to rebuild what Hurricane Katrina destroyed.
And according to Sandy Sorlien -- a lecturer in Fine Arts at Penn -- they are not going to do it alone.
Sorlien was one of more than 200 architects, urban planners, specialists and local representatives gathered two weeks ago at the Mississippi Renewal Forum, part of the Mississippi governor's Commission on Recovery, Rebuilding and Renewal.
The result of the charrette -- a intense workshop for design of either buildings or whole communities -- was the creation of plans for the rebuilding of the 11 affected cities.
Soon after the hurricane, University President Amy Gutmann promised paid leave for any faculty member who wanted to help with the relief effort.
Following the announcement, Sorlien decided to take part in the charrette. She was invited because of her experience with SmartCode -- a type of urban planning that allocates land for mixed uses -- and as a longtime urban photographer.
"I had the opportunity to go a little bit early and photograph existing conditions that the team could use as background," she said.
Sorlien added that because of Gutmann's initiative, she did not "feel as guilty about missing two classes." She also plans to hold makeup sessions.
Sorlien described the affected cities as similar to a "post-apocalyptic scene ... a different landscape than what you would usually find in the United States."
What struck Sorlien most, though, were her conversations with Biloxi residents.
"The people really wanted to talk, and I found that when I started listening to them it was hard to get them to stop. So I thought that maybe people haven't been listening to them," she said.
Sorlien also stressed the importance of community involvement in the rebuilding effort.
"The product was a result of our teams listening to what the people of Mississippi wanted for that area."
Following the charrette, the plans for each Gulf city were presented to residents at community forums.
Although Sorlien was unable to estimate when the city plans will be put into effect, she did say that the first step will be the construction of temporary homes for displaced residents.
Andres Duany -- charrette coordinator and holder of an honorary degree from Penn -- believes that full implementation will take at least 20 years but that "the short-term result was a revival of hope, a kind of vision that things can not only be restored, but that they can be better."
As for the overall success of the charrette, Duany said that "by human measure, it went very well" due to the participation of community members.
Charrette participant James Moore -- who holds three Penn graduate degrees in architecture -- attributes the charrette's success to the ability of participants to work together despite time pressures.
Moore, who is now a director of planning and urban design for architecture firm HDR, also believes that the charrette's efforts were greatly helped by cooperation from Mississippi officials.
"Whenever you have a crisis, if you have a true leader emerge, people will very quickly rally around that," he said, praising the commitment of Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour.
The final plans are due on Monday and will soon be submitted to residents at town-hall meetings.
