in lunch counter desegregation demonstrations on Canal St. Projects to improve the neighborhood gradually saw fruit by the start of the 2000s. A large part of Central City was above the flooding which devastated the majority of New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005 (see: Effect of Hurricane Katrina on New Orleans). As there were many vacant buildings and vacant lots in this rare piece of high dry ground, greater attention has been drawn to Central City in post-Katrina redevelopment of the city, including the redevelopment and updating of old public housing apartments built in the 1940s during segregation. The Melph, Magnolia Projects, and Calliope Projects were located in Central City. Magnolia has been redeveloped and is now the mixed-income Harmony Oaks. Calliope has been partially redeveloped into the mixed-income Marrero Commons. Melpomene (known as the Guste apartments) includes a multi-story building for senior citizens, as well as newer townhouses and additional new replacement units under construction in 2015. Central City has a significant Civil Rights History. In addition to the boycott on Dryades Street, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference was founded with Martin Luther King Jr. in Central City in 1957. The New Orleans chapter of the Congress of Racial Equality was founded and located in Central City as well. Geography Central City is located at and has an elevation of . According to the United States Census Bureau, the district has a total area of . of which is land and (0.0%) of which is water. It is located between the Louisiana Superdome and the Garden District. Adjacent neighborhoods Gert Town (north) Central Business District (north) Lower Garden District (south) Garden District (south) Milan (west) Broadmoor (west) Demographics As of the census of 2000, there were 19,072 people, 8,147 households, and 4,016 families residing in the neighborhood. The population density was 13,526 /mi (5,155 /km). As of the census of 2010, there were 11,257 people, 5,279 households, and 2,142 families residing in the neighborhood. Crime Central City was home to the civil rights movement in New Orleans in the 1960s, but fell into poverty, blight and crime in the late 1970s and into the 1980s and '90s. It was also one of the main areas affected by the crack epidemic in the mid 1980s The overall crime rate in Central City is 93% higher than the national average. For every 100,000 people, there are 15.16