Ocean Springs Mississippi: A Sustainable Living Community

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Photo by Alex Demyan
Ocean Springs, Mississippi. Still going strong, despite Hurricane Katrina.

A great place to live you’ve never heard of is Ocean Springs Mississippi, a sustainable living community. This historic town survived Hurricane Katrina and is coming back strong.

Ocean Springs Mississippi: A Sustainable Living Community

If you’ve survived a hurricane with the fury of Katrina, the word sustainability is partly synonymous with survivability. The downtown area of Ocean Springs was one of the few commercial districts on the Mississippi coast to come through Katrina intact, or nearly so — but 177 houses in the small city did not. Mary Alice and John Miner had lived in Ocean Springs for 32 years when Katrina blew their house right off Lover’s Lane. Now they’ve rebuilt a smaller house out of steel studs and walls. At age 82, the couple (owners of a toy store that survived) once again has a mortgage, but they say it was out of the question to move away from their cherished hometown.

Because of debris that’s still being cleared away, local officials have implemented a hefty $300 fine for littering. They’ve already replaced more than 5,000 trees and have plans to restore protective wetlands. All new public buildings will meet LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) green building standards.

“We learned to be grateful for what we have here,” says mayor Connie Moran. What they have is a historic town settled by the French in 1699, with a colorful mix of mansions overlooking the sea, fantastic gardens and ivy-covered cottages shaded by live oaks — the southern symbol of strength.

  • Published on Aug 1, 2007
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