The document discusses how cities have become dominant habitats globally and focuses on New Orleans as a prophetic city. It describes how New Orleans was previously disconnected from local priorities, had degraded natural assets, disrupted neighborhoods, and structural divisions. However, the document argues that through self-organization, communities formed networks of "hubs" and "links" that created connective tissue. It advocates enabling self-organization and indigenous resilience to combat learned helplessness. The document concludes by stating that New Orleans can serve as a model "prophetic city" through embracing assets, democratizing data, and enabling horizontal connections between identity-reinforcing groups.