[StBernard] Regional Poll Reveals Citizens Want More Transit, Housing Options and Greater Investments in Coastal Protection, Education

[Westley Annis]

Regional Poll Reveals Citizens Want More Transit, Housing Options and
Greater Investments in Coastal Protection, Education 

Ninety-three percent of citizens participating in the Louisiana Speaks
Regional Vision Poll support funding and implementation of the state's
proposed coastal protection and restoration plan. 

The poll also found, 81% of respondents want to focus future development in
existing cities and towns and modify current development patterns to create
new housing choices and new transit options. 

"A tremendous degree of consensus exists in the planning region around key
planning strategies," said Robin Rather, CEO of Collective Strength
<http://www.collectivestrength.com> , the research consulting firm that
collected and analyzed the survey results. "While the region is highly
diverse in many ways--geographically, culturally and politically--in terms
of long term recovery and growth planning, there is a mandate for key
goals." 

The poll also found that most citizens want to consider new options for risk
management in unprotected flood-prone areas, with only 11% of respondents
reporting their preference for emphasizing individual property rights over
community risk. 

"This tells us that Louisianians across the region want more from the future
than we will achieve if current trends continue," said Donna Fraiche, Chair
of the Louisiana Recovery Authority's Long Term Community Planning Task
Force. "They want more housing choices, more transit options, and they are
willing to consider policies, limitations and regulatory changes that will
help us collectively reduce risk and create safer communities. Citizens have
raised their expectations of what Louisiana can become over the next 50
years, and now it's up to us all to deliver." 

Complete survey results are available online at www.louisianaspeaks.org 
<http://www.louisianaspeaks.org> . 

The responses generated from this unprecedented, privately-funded outreach
campaign will be combinedA team of national experts and local planners are
now using this data, along with previous citizen input to create a
consensus-based vision for South Louisiana that will be released in May
2007. 

"The regional vision will serve as a road map for the future and move
Louisiana forward by coordinating businesses, government and citizens around
a common set of goals," said world renowned planner and lead consultant for
Louisiana Speaks <http://www.louisianaspeaks.org> , Peter Calthorpe. 

Louisiana Speaks <http://www.louisianaspeaks.org> , recently concluded an
extensive public outreach campaign to engage citizens in regional planning.

>From January 22 through February 10, citizens had an opportunity to weigh-in

through paper "ballots," an online poll, or phone survey to indicate their
preferences on 5 key planning questions - spanning economic development,
coastal recovery, growth/land use patterns and property rights. 

This campaign represents the largest and most inclusive regional planning
outreach initiative ever conducted in the United States, generating 23,260
responses, including 1,300 ballots from displaced residents living in 32
different states. This response rate far exceeds similar efforts conducted
in other parts of the U.S., including the long-term planning outreach
initiative conducted in New York after September 11th. 

"The Regional Vision now has the momentum it will need to move forward
successfully," said said Elizabeth "Boo" Thomas, President of the Center for
Planning Excellence <http://www.planningexcellence.org> (CPEX). "Never
before have so many public, private, civic and faith-based organizations
come together in support of planning South Louisiana's future, and never
before have so many citizens been engaged in the process." 

Louisiana Speaks <http://www.louisianaspeaks.org>  is a long-term planning
initiative of the Louisiana Recovery Authority
<http://www.lra.louisiana.gov/> (LRA) that is supported with private funds
provided through the LRA Support Foundation
<http://www.lrasupportfoundation.org/site/c.gtJVJdMRIsE/b.1202087/k.BEDC/Hom
e.htm> . CPEX, which was created to serve as a resource for residents,
community organizations, developers and elected officials to provide
information on best practices for planning and urban design, also provides
support and management for the Louisiana Speaks initiative. 

Collective Strength <http://www.collectivestrength.org>  is a consulting
firm based in Austin, Texas that specializes in research and planning.
Collective Strength <http://www.collectivestrength.com>  provided overall
project management for the 2006 Recovery Survey and continues to provide
support and consulting services to for www.louisianaspeaks.org
<http://www.louisianaspeaks.org> . 

Spanning parishes from the Texas to Mississippi border (including the Houma/
Thibodaux, New Orleans, North Shore, Baton Rouge, Lafayette and Lake Charles
metro areas), the Louisiana Speaks Regional Vision will provide the
framework for local and parish plans to thrive in and serve as a guide for
South Louisiana's long-term recovery and future growth . The Regional Vision
will address the range of challenges and opportunities facing South
Louisiana as the state recovers and grows over the next 50 years. It will
include a vision, as well as strategies and concrete actions that address
comprehensive risk management, land use, transportation and infrastructure
investments, economic development, and restoration and protection
challenges. 

Planning for www.louisianaspeaks.org <http://www.louisianaspeaks.org>  is
led by a team of top local and national professional which includes:
Calthorpe Associates <http://www.calthorpe.com> , FregoneseCalthorpe
Associates <http://www.frego.com/> , Urban Design Associates
<http://www.urbandesignassociates.com/> , Duany Plater-Zyberk & Co.
<http://www.dpz.com/> , ABMB Engineers, Inc. <http://www.abmb.com/> ,
Brookings Institution Metropolitan Policy Program
<http://www.brook.edu/metro/metro.htm> , brown+danos landdesign, inc.
<http://www.browndanos.com/> , Collective Strength
<http://www.collectivestrength.com/> , Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc.
<http://www.kimley-horn.com/kha/> , PolicyLink <http://www.policylink.org/>
, and Dr. Robert R. Twilley <http://www.sce.lsu.edu/faculty/twilley.htm> ,
of LSU Coastal Louisiana Ecosystem Assesment and Restoration (CLEAR)
<http://www.clear.lsu.edu> . 


Louisiana Speaks is a long-term planning initiative of the Louisiana
Recovery Authority (LRA) that is supported with private funds provided
through the LRA Support Foundation. In the wake of the destruction caused by
Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the Louisiana Speaks initiative works toward
the development of a sustainable, long-term vision for South Louisiana. This
work combines the efforts of local, state and federal partners along with
many experts, stakeholders and citizens into a comprehensive approach that
will guide recovery and growth over the next 50 years.