After sev­en years of ser­vice as the pres­i­dent of Tulane Uni­ver­si­ty, Scott Cowen watched the dev­as­ta­tion of his beloved New Orleans at the hands of Hur­ri­cane Kat­ri­na. When fed­er­al, state, and city offi­cials could­n’t find their way to deci­sive action, Cowen quick­ly part­nered with a coali­tion of civic, busi­ness, and non­prof­it lead­ers look­ing to work around the old insti­tu­tions. This team led the charge to restore equi­lib­ri­um and even­tu­al­ly to rebuild. The Inevitable City presents 10 prin­ci­ples that changed the game for this city, and, if adopt­ed, can alter the curve for any busi­ness, endeav­or, com­mu­ni­ty — and per­haps even a nation. This is the sto­ry of the resur­gence and rein­ven­tion of one of Amer­i­ca’s great­est cities, and how ordi­nary cit­i­zens, empow­ered to active­ly res­cue their own city after politi­cians and gov­ern­ment offi­cials failed them, have suc­ceed­ed in rebuild­ing their world.