When Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, entire neighborhoods that flooded catastrophically when the levees failed, were left scarred.

Some areas were hit by floodwaters so forceful they pushed homes off their foundations.

Today, many blocks remain vacant with cinder blocks and concrete steps peeking through plant overgrowth where homes once stood.

Tulane University’s URBANbuild program saw a need for housing during the storm's aftermath and have since spent the last two decades constructing affordable homes in New Orleans.

Each academic year, URBANbuild students conceive, design, permit and build a full-scale house.

Their tools are not just pencils and blueprints, but saws, hammers and sweat — and their classroom is the city itself.

In the fall, they work through design details and approvals. By spring, they are in hard hats, raising walls and fitting windows.

Since the programs inception, students have built 20 homes, including single and multi-family residences, in collaboration with local nonprofits and community groups.

Neighborhoods like Central City and the Lower 9th Ward are still recovering but now students are building houses and foundations for resilience, progress and hope.