The fourth centenary of Hurricane Katrina falls this weekend.

Usually, a fourth centennial is not a landmark; however this one is prominent for the various leadership transitions afoot.

First, the election of President Obama has finely tuned the hopes for a new federal route in the Gulf Coast. As for as now, he has been low-key, even skipping out on a stay to the area this anniversary-for the very first time in three years-instead pointing to his administration’s accomplishments to develop the business of revival, such as accelerating infrastructure repairs.

But to entirely break from the precedent, further needs to be done-especially to make sure that the downturn does not rollback the recovery gains made to date. At the same time as federal savings in public infrastructure maintenance have helped buoy the New Orleans economy, the recession has dampened the lodging market, stalling efforts to swap or repair the tens of thousands of homes destroyed by the storm.

Further, added work is needed to boost up the incomes as well as the opportunity in the region which has to convert a massive inventory of blighted properties into marketable use, and it also strengthen the safety as well as sustainability of the region all the way through comprehensive coastal restoration and protection.

At the focus, Obama along with his team should show that the $40 billion-plus in taxpayer dollars is been spent on long-term Gulf Coast revitalization is not being wasted to simply revisit New Orleans back to its old normal.

Definitely, prior to Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans was snowed under with challenges facing many older cities. It had the second maximum concentration of poverty among the 50 largest American cities. It haunted a weak economy, among shrinking high-paying industries along with expanding low-wage, hospitality jobs. Moreover, the metro area was mounting in unsustainable ways, with the city losing jobs and residents as growth shifted superficial into suburban parishes and against precious wetlands.

The chance is that the federal recovery dollars already flowing to schools, housing, health care facilities, and roads and transit can be accompanied by an overhaul of policies and systems underlying them so that New Orleanians, and our nation, get better outcome along with the performance, but it is not enough to simply get the money out the door promptly. All our aim must be for a city and region that is more comprehensive, economically robust, in addition to environmentally sustainable than before the storm.

There is no doubt that some bold innovations are underway which includes total revamping of the public school system and the installation of a first-ever inspector general to eradicate the cloud of corruption as well as suspect that hangs over locally-elected officials.

But, these efforts must be the average but it is not the exception. To that end, in the next one year, the management must go beyond “disaster recovery” in addition to work with state, local, as well as the private sector allies to smooth the progress of some transformative initiatives to boldly put the city on the pathway to reinvention. The stress is on for Obama (and New Orleanians) to demonstrate that, at the five-year crossroad, New Orleans is not trending on the way to the status quo.

Particularly, the management should not treat New Orleans as that unusual disaster case, but as a precedence city where it can examine a number of its signature initiative. From modernizing the nation’s infrastructure to boost up the green industries to linking school reform with the alteration of worried neighborhoods-as well as the launch of a new urban and metropolitan agenda-Obama can apply his desire for bottoms-up solution to the city and region that has been teeming through renewed assets, a dedicated citizenry as well as a strong philanthropic support.

But this is an aloft battle if Obama does not have an excellent local co-worker.

Providentially, Mayor Nagin’s tenure is coming to an end. Nagin has been a tragedy (excuse the pun) and his recovery czar resigned prior this summer with little fanfare as well as few accomplishments. With a primary coming up next February and a run-off election in March, New Orleans will have a chance to choose a leader with vision and skillful person who can hold up his or her end of the deal in a federal-state-local partnership to put into words the promise of recovery.

With all these stars aligning, let’s not dissipate this post-disaster moment to reconstruct a great American city.