help create a natural barrier that could aid New Orleans in future storms. It is estimated that if New Orleans was to restore of wetland lost before 2005, the natural capital would be worth an estimated $6 billion/year, or $200 billion at the present value. While New Orleans has made numerous efforts in rebuilding their economy, and has been successful with tourist-attracting events such as Mardi Gras, the natural capital provided could further assist the city in returning to its pre-Katrina wealth and economy. Racial disparities Following Katrina, many said that the hurricane had greater impact on black and less economically privileged people than it had on predominantly white and wealthier people. "The city’s remarkable recovery has, to a troubling degree, left behind the African-Americans who still make up the majority of its population," according to FiveThirtyEight. They based this on statistics showing that black residents of New Orleans are more likely to be unemployed than when the storm hit, and are also more likely to be living in poverty. Household incomes of black people have also fallen, and the wage gap between black and white people has grown. About 175,000 black residents departed New Orleans over the year following the storm, while only 100,000 returned, pushing the African American population to 59 percent, from 66 percent previously. The biggest impact has been on the middle-class black people, given that most black professionals are older and more advanced in their careers, and the majority of the affluent and middle class are white. These setbacks to the black population in New Orleans corresponded with a large number of educated white arrivals, contributing to a high rate of business formation in the city. These newcomers have had the effect of driving up housing prices, making rent less affordable for the majority of black residents. The influence of black people in the city receded politically, too: in 2010 New Orleans elected its first white mayor in 32 years, a white majority (5–2) took control of the City Council, which had previously been black, and a white police chief and district attorney were elected. Lance Hill of Tulane University said: "The perception among most African-Americans is that they are living politically as a defeated group in their own city." After Hurricane Katrina, many African-Americans suffered from mental illnesses—such as PTSD—at higher rates than their white counterparts. Populations experiencing mental illnesses, especially after a natural