Beyond Bourbon Street - An Insider's Guide To New Orleans

Bienville's Dilemma and the Founding of New Orleans In the Spring of 1718, Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville presided over a small ceremony on the banks of the Mississippi River and officially founded what we know today as the City of New Orleans. How did Bienville come to choose this site for New Orleans? What were the other options and how do those decisions impact New Orleanians today? In today's episode we explore Bienville's Dilemma with noted author and geographer Richard Campanella. In Richard's book, Bienville's Dilemma, he explains the factors that led to the decision to place New Orleans at its present site, rather than at the mouth of the Mississippi River. You'll learn the important differences between a good site and a good situation, and why that mattered to the French. We also settle the question of whether New Orleans is predominantly above or below sea level. As we move forward in time, Richard and I discuss how decisions made at the very beginning of New Orleans continue to impact the city