Nobody actually lives here

I'm kind of running out of ways to say it by this point. But neighborhoods where nobody actually lives are not actually.. you know.. neighborhoods.

The Vieux Carré Property Owners, Residents & Associates Executive Director Meg Lousteau goes so far as to say residential life here is under siege.

"The thing that gives it that intangible feeling of authenticity and realness is the fact that people live here, and if we lose that, we're going to lose the thing that everyone does realize they love," Lousteau said.

Census data shows the full-time residential population in the French Quarter has dropped since Hurricane Katrina to around 4,000 people.

Lousteau cites quality of life issues, including crime and parking problems. But she said illegal short term rentals, like Airbnb, are making housing less available and more expensive.

"If you are looking to buy a property that you are going to live in, and you're competing against somebody who's buying to rent it out every weekend, who's making a profit on it, that person's numbers and math are very different from yours," she said.

This WWL report concluded by noting that Stacy Head is working on a way to "fix" this problem.   I've already noted but it bears repeating I have zero confidence that's what she's actually up to.