Basic services, such as childcare, libraries, public transportation, and schools, remain at levels that are less than half of what they were pre-Katrina. More than one third of all hospitals and acute care facilities remain closed in the city.

The reconstruction of housing has progressed at an uneven pace. The Louisiana Recovery Authority (LRA) was created in the aftermath of hurricanes Katrina and Rita to plan for the recovery and rebuilding of Louisiana. It established a program called "The Road Home" to help residents rebuild their homes, the largest housing recovery program in American history. But two years later, the actual output of the program -- in terms of new homes financed and built, and the levels of benefits offered -- remains relatively small.

This information gathered from The New Orleans Index, a publication of the Brookings Institution.