[StBernard] LRA Chairman to Deliver Opening Remarks at Historic Community Congress Meeting this Saturday

[Westley Annis]

LRA Chairman to Deliver Opening Remarks at Historic Community Congress Meeting this Saturday

All New Orleanians Urged to Participate in the City-Wide Discussion

New Orleans, La. - Louisiana Recovery Authority (LRA) Chairman Norman C. Francis will deliver opening remarks at the Unified New Orleans Plan's (UNOP's) second Community Congress at 9 a.m. this Saturday December 2.

"By participating in this Community Congress, you'll have a critical opportunity to influence planning and guide investments that will have a profound impact on the future of the Greater New Orleans Area for many years to come," said Francis. "We need to speak with one voice to express our shared priorities, and work together to make our dreams and our vision for the future of our city a reality."

Click here <https://ww2.eventrebels.com/er/Registration/RegistrationForm.jsp?ActivityID=1319>  to register to attend the UNOP Community Congress this Saturday, December 2.

Through this citywide meeting, residents in five cities across the region will be linked together by interactive television so that all New Orleans residents can participate in the dialogue. Citizens will be asked to participate in small group facilitated discussions and use the latest technology, including polling key pads, to identify citywide priorities and record their preferences. 

*	New Orleans: Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, 9:00 to 3:30 CST 
*	Atlanta: Georgia Int'l Convention Center, 10:00 to 4:30 EST 
*	Baton Rouge: Baton Rouge River Center, 9:00 to 3:30 CST 
*	Dallas: Adams Mark Dallas Hotel, 9:00 to 3:30 CST 
*	Houston: Reliant Park, 9:00 to 3:30 CST 

Displaced residents in other cities will also have the opportunity to participate at local community locations and libraries by watching a live webcast and submitting their ideas online. For more information about the community and library locations, please visit www.unifiedneworleansplan.org <http://www.unifiedneworleansplan.org> . 

The meetings this Saturday are free and open to all residents of New Orleans, pre and post Katrina. FREE transportation, food and childcare will also be provided at all five sites to ensure the meetings are accessible to all New Orleanians. 

This meeting represents one of several opportunities for New Orleans residents to have a real voice in setting citywide priorities. The effort to involve New Orleans area citizens began shortly after Katrina with the work of the Bring New Orleans Back Commission, which identified city-wide needs and issues that should be addressed on a short-term and long-term basis. 

The City Council then provided neighborhood-based planning, through Lambert Advisors, to the neighborhoods that were most flooded. Lambert's work addressed some of the most devastated areas of the city and produced a list of recovery projects for consideration. 

With the help of paid and volunteer professionals, local and national universities and other technical resources, many neighborhoods also conducted their own resident led planning initiative. 

All of these pre-existing programs and corresponding results have now been folded into the final phase of the planning for the city, the Unified New Orleans Plan process, which will produce a unified city-wide recovery plan by January 2007.

Federal, state and local agencies, including the LRA, will use the UNOP plan as a strategic guide for the investment of funds to support the continued rebuilding of communities in Orleans Parish. The plan will also serve as a resource to citizens and private investors as they are making personal and business decisions regarding the recovery. Elements of the city-wide plan will also be incorporated into the LRA's Louisiana Speaks regional planning initiative that will bring together New Orleans, Houma/ Thibodaux, the Northshore, Baton Rouge, Lafayette and Lake Charles to form a regional vision for South Louisiana's long term recovery and future growth.

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The Unified New Orleans Plan (UNOP) is a process that will link all New Orleans neighborhoods under an equal, unified infrastructure plan. By developing a common, unified set of priorities for the recovery of New Orleans, this process will play a critical role in shaping public and private investment in rebuilding our city. The UNOP process will incorporate all community, professional and volunteer driven planning work, as best identified by UNOP and the community, which is complete and or underway. 

Louisiana Speaks is the long-term planning initiative of the Louisiana Recovery Authority. With support from the LRA Support Foundation, Louisiana Speaks has engaged a team of top local and national planning experts to gather public input and support the development of a regional vision for South Louisiana that will guide long-term recovery and future growth. This work combines the efforts of many experts, stakeholders and citizens into a comprehensive approach that will be used to guide investments and secure additional resources for Louisiana.