To accompany their understanding of hurricanes, students were given specific topics of research in order to better understand and address design problems specifically related to the city of New Orleans and the Lower Ninth Ward community.  The unique character of not only the city, but the neighborhood and people within the city, requires special attention in order to create an architecture that is responsive to that unique quality.  The following topics allowed students the opportunity to explore and understand the context in which they were designing, both within the city of New Orleans and in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina: