Blakely. Hmmm?

NY Times:

I can't decide if this guy is good for New Orleans or not.

“We have an economy entirely made up of T-shirts,” he said in a speech at the University of Sydney this week. “That is our major import and export.”

He sees the moribund economic infrastructure as the result, in part, of the city’s provincialism.

“It’s quite interesting how insular people are here,” Dr. Blakely said. “They don’t know people on Wall Street, they don’t know the big development firms, they’ve not been associated with the kind of urban planning expertise that I take for granted.”
. . . . .
“I think, if we create the right signals, they’re going to come here, and they’re going to say, ‘Who are these buffoons?’ I’m meeting some who are moving here, and they don’t have time for this stuff.”

Is he just a blowhard, or does he really know something about urban recovery?

Hat tip to Forgotston's email.

Update: Jeff Crouere weighs in. And he's not happy.