[2] According to the United States Census Bureau, the district has a total area of 1.61 square miles (4.2 km2).

[citation needed] Though the Navarre section, encompassing the area between and around City Park Avenue and Florida Avenue began developing slowly early in the 20th century, large-scale residential development of most of the area began after World War II, with the predominant housing style being bungalows.

Originally, Lakeview was mostly middle class, but it became more economically upscale in the last couple decades of the 20th century.

This was one of the most significant levee failures which occurred in the wake of Katrina's landfall and put the majority of the city underwater.

Floodwaters from the floodwall breach inundated large parts of the neighborhood in a matter of minutes.

Most Lakeview residents had the means to escape the city before the storm came ashore, but decaying bodies were found in the attics of several houses.

As in much of the city, FEMA trailers dotted the area, providing temporary housing while homes were being repaired and rebuilt.

Army Corps of Engineers repair work on the 17th Street Canal floodwalls in Lakeview is still ongoing as of May 2007.

The Robert E. Smith Branch Library is in a $4.6-million facility paid with bonds and recovery funds that opened in March 2012.

[8] In the post-Hurricane Katrina period the library system operated the Lakeview Branch, housed in a 64-by-20-foot (19.5 by 6.1 m) modular building.

The "design-build" process, one specially allowed only in parishes affected by Hurricane Katrina under Louisiana law, was used to rebuild this library and four others.

[12] Lee Ledbetter of Lee Ledbetter & Associates stated that the libraries his company designed were made to have better access to public transportation and have reduced utility usage, including having electricity and water-saving features, in order to be more cost effective.