Louisiana Speaks

Last updated

Louisiana Speaks was a regional plan, published in May 2007, and planning organization for southern Louisiana created in the wake of the destruction caused by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

Contents

About

The plan was conceived to guide the state of Louisiana and its citizens on a "bold new course" through the state's recovery from Katrina and Rita and "into a safer, stronger, smarter future". [1]

The plan represented 18 months of work facilitated by some of the top planners in Louisiana and the United States, taking in input from 23,000 Louisianans [2] and supported by $4 million in private funding. [3] The plan combined the efforts of local, state, and federal partners along with many experts, stakeholders and citizens into a comprehensive approach in order to guide recovery and growth in the state of Louisiana over the next 50 years. The Regional Plan includes more than 100 action items, supporting three broad goals: Recover Sustainably, Grow Smarter, and Think Regionally.

Louisiana Speakswas funded by private donations to the Louisiana Recovery Authority Support Foundation, created by the Baton Rouge Area Foundation. The Center for Planning Excellence, a non-profit planning organization, managed the creation of the plan in cooperation with the Louisiana Recovery Authority.

The plan was credited with leading to changes in land use policy in the state. [4]

Process

The Louisiana Speaks process included:

  1. Planning for individual homeowners and businesses through the development of a Pattern Book for residential and commercial architecture, and development of a guide to planning, the Toolkit, which is led by Urban Design Associates
  2. Planning for neighborhoods through local design charrettes, which were led by Duany Plater-Zyberk & Company
  3. Parish-level planning supported by Long-Term Community Recovery Teams, which were coordinated through the Louisiana Recovery Authority and the US Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency
  4. And long term 25-50 year regional plan for South Louisiana led by Calthorpe Associates

Publications

Related Research Articles

DPZ CoDesign (DPZ) is an architecture and town planning firm based in Miami, Florida, founded in 1980 by the husband-and-wife team of Andrés Duany and Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk. The firm advocates for New Urbanist town planning in the United States and other countries, having completed designs for over 300 new and existing communities. In addition to Duany and Plater-Zyberk, DPZ's partners include Galina Tachieva, Marina Khoury, Senen M. A. Antonio and Matthew J. Lambert.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Acadiana</span> Region in Louisiana, United States

Acadiana, also known as the Cajun Country, is the official name given to the French Louisiana region that has historically contained much of the state's Francophone population.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Baker (American politician)</span> American politician (born 1948)

Richard Hugh Baker is an American politician and lobbyist. He served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1987 to 2008, representing the 6th District of Louisiana as a Republican.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andrés Duany</span> American architect and urban planner

Andrés Duany is an American architect, an urban planner, and a founder of the Congress for the New Urbanism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charlie Melançon</span> American politician (born 1947)

Charles Joseph Melançon is an American politician and the former secretary of the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries.

<i>The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate</i> American newspaper published in New Orleans, Louisiana

The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate is an American newspaper published in New Orleans, Louisiana. Ancestral publications of other names date back to January 25, 1837. The current publication is the result of the 2019 acquisition of The Times-Picayune by the New Orleans edition of The Advocate in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hurricane Katrina</span> Category 5 Atlantic hurricane in 2005

Hurricane Katrina was a devastating and deadly Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that caused 1,392 fatalities and damages estimated at $186.3 billion in late August 2005, particularly in the city of New Orleans and its surrounding area. Katrina was the twelfth tropical cyclone, the fifth hurricane, and the third major hurricane of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season. It was also the fourth-most intense Atlantic hurricane to make landfall in the contiguous United States, gauged by barometric pressure.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Russel L. Honoré</span> US Army General

Russel Luke Honoré is a retired lieutenant general who served as the 33rd commanding general of the U.S. First Army at Fort Gillem, Georgia. He is best known for serving as commander of Joint Task Force Katrina responsible for coordinating military relief efforts for Hurricane Katrina–affected areas across the Gulf Coast and as the 2nd Infantry Division's commander while stationed in South Korea. He served until his retirement from the Army on January 11, 2008. Honoré is sometimes known as "The Ragin' Cajun".

Baton Rouge Area Foundation is a community foundation dedicated to enhancing the quality of life in Louisiana's capital region, and is registered with the IRS as a 501(c)(3) tax-deductible nonprofit organization. Since inception, the Foundation has granted over $650 million.

The Louisiana Recovery Authority (LRA) was the governmental body created in the aftermath of hurricanes Katrina and Rita by Governor Kathleen Blanco to plan for the recovery and rebuilding of Louisiana. Under the leadership of the founding executive director, Andy Kopplin, the authority's mission was to plan for Louisiana's future, coordinate across jurisdictions, support community recovery and resurgence, and ensure integrity and effectiveness. By working in collaboration with local, state and federal agencies, the authority's goal was to also address short-term recovery needs while guiding the long-term planning process.

The Mississippi Renewal Forum was a design charrette in which over 200 community leaders and design professionals worked together to plan the rebuilding of the Mississippi Coast post-Hurricane Katrina. In the course of a week in October 2005, the charrette’s design teams generated new plans and codes for all eleven municipalities along the Mississippi coast, including Waveland, Bay St. Louis, Pass Christian, Long Beach, Gulfport, Biloxi, D’Iberville, Ocean Springs, Gautier, Pascagoula and Moss Point.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Internally displaced persons in the United States</span>

Internally displaced persons in the United States are people from the Gulf States region in the southern United States, most notably New Orleans, Louisiana, who were forced to leave their homes because of the devastation brought on by Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and were unable to return because of a multitude of factors, and are collectively known as the Gulf Coast diaspora and by standard definition considered IDPs. At their peak, hurricane evacuee shelters housed 273,000 people and, later, FEMA trailers housed at least 114,000 households. Even a decade after Hurricane Katrina, many victims who were forced to relocate were still unable to return home.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plan Baton Rouge</span> Organization in Louisiana

Plan Baton Rouge is a master plan for the redevelopment of the downtown of Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The plan is based on New Urbanist principles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Effect of Hurricane Katrina on the New Orleans Saints</span>

Hurricane Katrina devastated the city of New Orleans, Louisiana on August 29, 2005 and caused extensive damage to the Louisiana Superdome. As a result, the National Football League (NFL)'s New Orleans Saints were unable to play any home games at the Superdome for the entire 2005 NFL regular season. The dome was also used as a storm shelter for people who were unable to evacuate the city before the storm.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of Baton Rouge, Louisiana</span>

The foundation of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, dates to 1721, at the site of a bâton rouge or "red stick" Muscogee boundary marker. It became the state capital of Louisiana in 1849.

The Louisiana Business & Technology Center (LBTC) at Louisiana State University plays an important role to the state's flagship university, Louisiana State University as a part of LSU's Office of Research and Economic Development. LBTC's primary goal is to increase the economic growth of Louisiana by enhancing the development of small businesses and assisting in the development of new businesses. The center is ranked among the top ten entrepreneur programs in the nation. In 1988 it was jointly funded through LSU and the Greater Baton Rouge Chamber of Commerce to foster economic growth in Louisiana by providing businesses with applications and tools necessary for growth and survival in the real world. It comprises the Louisiana Technology Transfer Office (LTTO), the LBTC Business Incubator, and the LSU Student Incubator.

The Louisiana Geological Survey is a state geological survey established by the Louisiana legislature by Act 131 in 1934 to serve the citizens Louisiana by collecting, preserving, and disseminating impartial information on the geomorphology, hydrogeology, geology, paleontology, economic geology, and geological resources of Louisiana. The Louisiana Geological Survey was originally part of the Louisiana Department of Conservation. Later it was a division of the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources and finally transferred by the Louisiana legislature's HB 2353 to Louisiana State University. At Louisiana State University, it is part of the Office of Research and Economic Development.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alma Dawson</span> American scholar of librarianship

Alma Dawson is an American scholar of librarianship. She retired as Russell B. Long Professor at the School of Library & Information Science, Louisiana State University in 2014 and was awarded Emeritus status in 2015. In 2019 Dr. Dawson was honored with the Essae Martha Culver Distinguished Service Award from the Louisiana Library Association which honors a librarian whose professional service and achievements, whose leadership in Louisiana association work, and whose lifetime accomplishments in a field of librarianship within the state merit recognition of particular value to Louisiana librarianship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Rainwater</span> American politician

Paul W. Rainwater is an American former local and state government official from Louisiana who served as an aide to Governor Bobby Jindal and played a prominent role in Louisiana during its recovery from Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, Gustav, and Ike and the recovery of the state from the 2010 British Petroleum Oil Spill.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2016 Louisiana floods</span> 2016 natural disaster in Louisiana, United States

In August 2016, prolonged rainfall from an unpredictable storm resulted in catastrophic flooding in the state of Louisiana, United States; thousands of houses and businesses were submerged. Louisiana's governor, John Bel Edwards, called the disaster a "historic, unprecedented flooding event" and declared a state of emergency. Many rivers and waterways, particularly the Amite and Comite rivers, reached record levels, and rainfall exceeded 20 inches (510 mm) in multiple parishes.

References

  1. "Smarth Growth Resource Library: Louisiana Speaks Regional Plan". Smart Growth Online . Retrieved 2007-10-01.{{cite web}}: External link in |publisher= (help)
  2. Jackson, Kyle (May 10, 2007). "Plan focuses on rebuilding state". The Daily Advertiser. Lafayette, Louisiana. p. 12A. Retrieved April 26, 2022 via Newspapers.com.
  3. Martin, Justin (February 1, 2007). "Recovery plan input solicited at local forum". The Daily Review. Morgan City, Louisiana. p. 1, 16 . Retrieved April 26, 2022 via Newspapers.com.
  4. "State-planning efforts after hurricanes falter". The News-Star. Monroe, Louisiana. Associated Press. December 8, 2008. p. 4A. Retrieved April 26, 2022 via Newspapers.com.