Faubourg Marigny is among Top 10 Great Neighborhoods

New Orleans’ Faubourg Marigny is one of the American Planning Association’s 10 Great Neighborhoods for 2009. Through its Great Places in America Program, the organization recognizes unique and authentic characteristics found in three essential components of all communities: streets, neighborhoods and public spaces. Such places are defined by many characteristics, including architectural features, accessibility, functionality and community involvement. Once a plantation, the diverse neighborhood offers a close-knit, affordable community to its residents and business owners. The neighborhood’s street layout is unusual in that it was designed to accommodate a 135-degree bend in the Mississippi River. The Faubourg Marigny was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974. “Our residents work hard to keep our neighborhood friendly and open to visitors,” Faubourg Marigny Improvement Association President Chris Costello says, “while sharing everything there is to offer in its unique sense of place, local citizen activism, historic architecture and social and cultural diversity.”