The Times-Picayune: Sen. Mary Landrieu: Smart planning key to keeping Louisiana safe, spurring economy
Diana Samuels
Good planning strategies are crucial to Louisiana's future, from protecting communities along the state's coast to ensuring businesses and individuals continue to invest money here, Sen. Mary Landrieu said at a Baton Rouge event Monday.
Particularly in a region where hurricanes are common and infrastructure needs to protect against flooding, "planning is not a luxury," Landrieu (D-La.) told NOLA.com on the first night of the Smart Growth Summit. "It's an essential component of preserving our extraordinary and unique way of life."
Landrieu and East Baton Rouge Parish Mayor-President Kip Holden were among those who spoke at the summit Monday night. The event, which runs through Wednesday at the Shaw Center, draws planning experts from around the country to talk about best practices in planning infrastructure, buildings, and other aspects of communities.
Smart planning spurs economic development, as people can feel confident about putting money into the state, Landrieu said.
"We want people to know that their investments and their money are safe here with us because we are a community that 'gets it,'" Landrieu told the audience. "We are willing to take the time to design the communities that we want to turn over to our children and grandchildren."
Holden described the progress Baton Rouge has made in planning in recent years, with major new projects downtown, such as the Shaw Center where he was speaking. He described a recent high school reunion for a class that had graduated in the early 1980s. Downtown Baton Rouge had changed so much, the attendees couldn't identify where they were, he said.
In Baton Rouge, "we've got bike trails now, we have running trails," Holden said. "People get out of their houses now and make a difference. Just by building a bench at a neighborhood corner, people are now meeting neighbors that they've never met before."
Holden did warn that planning efforts often run into opposition. But he said leaders have to push through that opposition if they want to see change happen.
"Don't worry about those who talk," he said. "Go out there and do it. Then at some point they're going to wake up from their dream and they will apologize to you and say, 'Thank you for what you've done for these communities.'"
Mitchell Silver, president of the American Planning Association, also spoke at the event Monday. Visit the event's website for more information about the summit.
