Wishful thinking.

The 9th Ward and surrounding areas can be rebuilt largely as they existed before Hurricane Katrina flooded them, a survey contends.

The findings, based on a block-by-block survey of damage, contradict the common perception that these neighborhoods, which have become a kind of Ground Zero in the wake of Katrina, sustained such destruction that they need to be rebuilt from scratch, said urban planners who conducted the survey and released it Saturday.

If you're going to rebuild the Ninth Ward, you better make some changes. Like getting those houses safe up off the ground.