New Orleans’ main source of revenue is tourism but it has never had what one would call good infrastructure. River sand and swamps just aren’t optimum substrata. Of course, being under water for 43 days after Katrina made land fall did not help. Sidewalks, like the streets, can be dangerous. One wonders how so many tourists make it home with so few broken bones.
New Orleans uses bodacious festivals to attract visitors. Take, for example, Southern Decadence, a festival that, unlike Mardi Gras, most of the world has never heard about, but that still draws thousands.
These two things — may not be the stuff of Chamber of Commerce brochures. Nevertheless, they are as representative of the city as beignets and iron balconies. To love New Orleans, you have to accept it as it exists. You either laugh with the licentious or leave.