A 2007 study by Tulane and Xavier University suggested that "51%... of the contiguous urbanized portions of Orleans, Jefferson, and St. Bernard parishes lie at or above sea level," with the more densely populated areas generally on higher ground. The average elevation of the city is currently between and below sea level, with some portions of the city as high as at the base of the river levee in Uptown and others as low as below sea level in the farthest reaches of Eastern New Orleans. A study published by the ASCE "Journal of Hydrologic Engineering" in 2016, however, stated: