After all the emotional response, it's time to think this out. New Orleans was where it was because the French thought this was a good spot. It was the shortest distance upstream that could support a major town. Remember that the site was chosen before steam, when going upstream was much more of an undertaking than it is now.
Once a major metropolis is formed, it tends to stay put. Part of what it has is a large stock of lousy but low-rent housing. In New Orleans, most of that is gone. Anything that we replace it with will be at least newer and mostly built to higher standards. The poor people who were there won't be able to afford it at market prices.
Furthermore, it's below sea level and sinking. It's worse than a flood plain. If it weren't New Orleans, people wouldn't even be allowed to build there. It makes no sense to relocate lots of poor people someplace where they probably can't get jobs at a cost far above what it would take to settle them on really dry land.
The French Quarter should be protected by levees and the rest of it turned into a theme park. Lagoonland. I like the sound of that.
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