Act 170 of the 1968 Louisiana Legislature authorized the creation of a Community Improvement Agency in and for the City of New Orleans. Local approval of the Agency came through a City Council resolution on September 5, 1968. Two months later, on November 12, 1968, the CIA held its organizational meeting. It was directed by a seven-member Board, appointed by the Mayor with City Council approval and administered by an Executive Director who supervises a staff of State Civil Service employees.

The Community Improvement Agency was established as the City's urban renewal department. From its inception the CIA sought the rehabilitation of blighted areas rather than massive slum-clearance projects. In pursuit of this goal the Agency encouraged property owners to improve their holdings and assisted them in financing those improvements. Unrepairable structures were demolished and the properties cleared for reuse. The CIA also implemented improvements to streets, lighting, drainage, and open space within the blighted areas.

The Lower Ninth Ward became the first project area in 1969. In the following years the Desire/Florida, Gravier, and Central City areas were added along with the special Health Education Authority of Louisiana (HEAL) medical complex. Project Area Committees were formed in each of the four major sections. These bodies served as the means of local citizen participation in project planning and implementation.

In 1973 the CIA became the City's action arm for the Public Improvement Programs in the Irish Channel and Broadmoor neighborhoods. The Core Area Development District, responsible for revitalizing the New Orleans Central Business District, chose the Agency as its planning consultant in1975. Toward the end of the 1970s the CIA was completing its urban renewal phase and began to act more as a citywide housing improvement body. This role was encouraged by the federal Community Development block grant program, which provided funds for general areas of service rather than for specific projects or sections.

In the mid-1990s, the activities of the Community Improvement Agency were assumed by the New Orleans Redevelopment Authority.