[StBernard] Louisiana Speaks Begins Distributing Planning Tookit

[Westley Annis]

Louisiana Speaks Begins Distributing Planning Tookit




BATON ROUGE -- The Center for Planning Excellence (CPEX) has begun distributing the Louisiana Speaks Planning Toolkit, a planning, development and design guidebook to help communities rebuild and manage growth. 

CPEX's distribution of the Planning Toolkit at the Louisiana Municipal Association Mid-Winter Conference in Baton Rouge starts a year-long campaign to circulate the document. CPEX, which has been providing regional and local planning after hurricanes Katrina and Rita, is distributing the toolkit to elected officials, builders, planners and interested Louisiana residents. The Planning Toolkit is available online at www.LouisianaSpeaks.org <http://www.LouisianaSpeaks.org> .

The Toolkit is a planning guide for rebuilding across neighborhoods and regions. It accompanies the Louisiana Speaks Pattern Book, which was released in 2006 as a blueprint for rebuilding homes that can withstand storms and fit in with existing architecture. 

The new Toolkit provides concise, bulleted lists for six key planning issues: landscape and natural systems; flood, wind and stormwater management; transportation and utilities infrastructure; sustainability; equity, accessibility and affordability; and development patterns.

Created by Urban Design Associates, the Planning Toolkit was funded through the Louisiana Recovery Authority Support Foundation, the Fannie Mae Foundation and the Environmental Protection Agency. 

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.

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