The10thAnnual Louisiana Smart Growth Summit explores best practices for statewide planning. The Center for Planning and Excellence,CPEX, runs the event Tuesday and Wednesday in Baton Rouge.
CPEX CEO Elizabeth Boo Thomas says what Louisiana really needs is transportation and housing.
“In the New Orleans region you are getting all these wonderful young families, and the millennials are coming because of jobs, and it’s a cool place to live. But do you have enough affordable housing at whatever income you are that can deliver the right kind of housing to those families?”
Then, there those that live in cities and could take jobs in more rural areas, but can’t get there.
“There are some urban areas like Orleans Parish that has a huge unemployment rate,” says Thomas. “Can we apply transportation options to the un- or underemployed to get to the industries by the river? It’s not far, but there are very few transportation options for the underemployed.”
These are the key focus issues at this week’s Louisiana Smart Growth Summit. Featured speakers at the summit include Anthony Foxx, Secretary of the United States Department of Transportation. This is also the first year the Summit considers the impact of climate change on coastal communities.
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