Yes, the 9th Ward is part of the City of New Orleans and is "under" Nagin, who is Mayor of New Orleans. Orleans Parish and the City of New Orleans are co-terminus .. that is, have the same boundaries, and are both ruled by the city government. The City is sub-divided into Wards ... for example, the ward you live in determines where you vote, etc.
Geography 101:
Giving directions in New Orleans is more complex than in other places; and, thus, a unique way of describing locations has evolved. The City is oriented entirely to the River and Lake Pontchartrain. Instead of N/S E/W, everything is Up-Down or Upper-Lower, River-Lake.
Up or Upper means UpRiver. Down or Lower means DownRiver. The four corners of an intersection can be described as: Uptown-River; Uptown-Lake; Downtown-River; Downtown-Lake.
Basically, Canal Street is the dividing line. Uptown is above (UpRiver) Canal Street. The Garden District, the universities and the Audubon Zoo are Uptown. Downtown is below(DownRiver) Canal Street. The French Quarter, Marigny, Bywater, 9th Ward, etc. are Downtown.
The 9th Ward, about which so much has been said and written, is a civil division of the City of New Orleans. It is DownRiver from Canal Street and the French Quarter. In the early 20th Century, the Industrial Canal was cut between the River and Lake Pontchartrain. The Canal bisects the 9th Ward. Thus, you have the Upper 9th Ward, now more often called Bywater; then the Industrial Canal; and, then, continuing DownRiver, you have the Lower 9th Ward ... one of the areas hit so hard by flooding. This is generally eastward from Canal Street following along the Mississippi River as it flows toward the Gulf of Mexico.
Class is dismissed!
Dang, you are good. I never heard it explained better!!
Thank you so much for the lesson, it has helped me understand a lot.