Throngs of cultural enthusiasts filled the City Council chamber in City Hall on Thursday to support an emphasis on culture in New Orleans’ master plan.

Irvin Mayfield, cultural ambassador and the artistic director for the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra, presented a five-point plan to the City Council that outlined several objectives necessary to reconstruct the “cultural infrastructure” in New Orleans.

Those objectives included rebuilding the city’s talent pool; supporting community-based traditions; the repair and development of cultural facilities; marketing New Orleans as a world-class cultural capital; teaching cultural traditions to youth; and attracting new investment and information resources to the city.

In his “state of culture” address, Mayfield stressed the role culture plays in education, the crime rate, affordable housing for artists, politics and the future of New Orleans.

Mayfield said culture in education allows young people to participate in and “own” something positive, steering youth away from drugs and crime. In addition, he said culture bridges the gap between the government and its citizens.

“There is an opportunity for greatness if we can invest in the core of our city” he said. “By sustaining the organizations, groups and individuals who breathe life into the city every day, culture becomes the No. 1 investment we can make in our community.”

The current draft of the city’s master plan includes a section on preserving the culture of the Big Easy.

The plan, prepared by the New Orleans City Planning Commission, maps out the long-term physical development of the city, and includes a comprehensive zoning plan that gives residents and developers clear direction on the city’s development.

Scheduled for completion by June, the plan expands and integrates post-Katrina recovery and redevelopment plans. It also creates a 20-year policy and strategic outline to guide residents and policymakers in creating a 21^st century New Orleans while “honoring and preserving its unique identity.”

“I think our culture is a very unique part of our character and how we live,” said Yolanda Rodriguez, executive director of the city planning commission.

But Rodriguez believes that the arts and culture section of the draft can and should be strengthened. She added that the culture of New Orleans has helped attract tourists.

“Tourism is connected to the character and economic state of the city,” Rodriguez said.

Advocates say culture is synonymous with the city of New Orleans.

“Culture is New Orleans,” said Valerie McMillan, a musician and spoken-word artist who co-owns an agency with her sister called Wordplay, which works to bring spoken-word events to New Orleans high schools.

“It’s what we eat; it’s in the jambalaya and the architecture,” she said. “You’re not going to find this culture anywhere else. It’s in the people. Everyone has their different stories. It’s in the music, the jazz, everything. That’s why everyone comes to New Orleans to visit.”

Mayfield said there is a gap between the cultural community and other communities in the city.

“Just like you can’t play a great jazz song without knowing what every instrument is going through, we can’t expect folks in the Ninth Ward to understand what folks in Lakeview are going through if they don’t ever go there,” Mayfield said. “It is not only important that each instrument sound good individually but we must invest in their success as a group. For a jazz group to sound good, every member of the band must get to know and trust each other. For our city to succeed, we have to get to know and trust each other.”

Mayfield said his organization will host a series of weekly town-hall meetings at every public library so that the public can contribute to the discussion. The first meeting is from 6 to 8 p.m. on June 3 at the Main Library branch.

“The conversation begins today,” Mayfield said. “But it is far from over.”