The work done at CPEX spans many aspects of community development: from outreach and education, to planning, to policy development and implementation. The best way to understand the nature and breadth of our work is through community-specific examples.
Housing. Transportation. Jobs.
The region connecting Baton Rouge and New Orleans represents roughly half of the state’s population, jobs, and GDP. The opportunity to be competitive for economic growth on a global scale is clear.
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The Old South Baton Rouge (OSBR) neighborhood, a historic but disinvested community between downtown Baton Rouge and Louisiana State University was once a place the capital city’s African-American community was proud to call home.
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After hurricane Rita devastated Lake Charles – closing businesses, destroying homes across the city, taking out thousands of trees and sending a storm surge up into the businesses and homes that call the lakefront downtown…
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The Town of Jena, Louisiana, the seat of La Salle Parish, is a community of over 3000 residents located in Central Louisiana. Its advantageous location along Highway 84 (Hwy 84), one hour northeast of Alexandria and one hour south of Monroe has caused Jena to experience significant growth due to spillover from the nearby cities and the growing oil and gas industry.
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In 2009 the City of Zachary had a number of disparate design elements, lacking theme or connection. The park and trail systems that constituted the city needed a cohesive vision to illustrate what recreational aspects…
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Plan Baton Rouge began in 1998 as an initiative of the Baton Rouge Area Foundation designed to infuse Smart Growth principles into the revitalization of downtown Baton Rouge, making it a livable, sustainable, productive regional center. After a decade of resounding implementation success, CPEX, in partnership with the Downtown Development District and the City of Baton Rouge, embarked upon the ambitious Plan Baton Rouge Phase II in 2008.
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The Old South Baton Rouge (OSBR) planning process identified key strategic areas to focus on for successful revitalization. One of those areas was economic development.
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The OSBR Training Programs, including the Computer Training Program and the Small Business Training Program, strive to improve the quality of life and economic situation of the community by facilitating the revitalization of the neighborhood retail corridors and encouraging reinvestment by investors and developers. They will build economic health and assist neighborhood sustainability by providing training and knowledge for existing and potential business owners and workforce to gain operations efficiency and business retention.
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The Community Gardens Initiative re-imagines a community’s vacant lots by planting a productive garden through the engagement of community groups and stakeholders. Transitioning vacant land back into productive use reduces the environmental issues associated with unmanaged vacant lots, such as blight, noxious toxins and illegal dumping, and the community development issues, such as unwanted uses, lowered property values and lack of physical investment.
Read More» In 2007, Tangipahoa Parish residents realized that uncontrolled growth and development across the parish, a sudden population increase of 7,000 to 10,000 people after Hurricane Katrina, and no zoning ordinances represented risks for their rural…
Read More» In 2007, St. Charles Parish decided to take action to update their 1980 comprehensive plan that focused on growth management—no longer an issue in the parish. A suburb of New Orleans that occupies land on…
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In 2004, the Smart Growth Leadership Institute and University of Southern California selected Baton Rouge as one of nine cities in the nation to receive an in-kind audit. The audit examined East Baton Rouge Parish’s comprehensive plan, the Horizon Plan, to assess if this vision document promotes Smart Growth principles.
Read More» Louisiana Speaks combined 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 to make Louisiana safer, stronger and smarter in the future.
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Louisiana communities are feeling the pinch of sprawling uncontrolled development that is not compatible with historic development patterns. Citizens want to know that there are safeguards in place to maintain the culture and value they…
Read More» Center for Planning Excellence has announced that the 7th Louisiana Smart Growth Summit has been cancelled in its entirety due to the threat caused by Tropical Storm Isaac. Rescheduling details will follow as information becomes available.
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In 2008, CPEX began the first round of the Home Rehabilitation Grant Program which assists in the repair and updating of existing low-income, owner-occupied homes within OSBR.
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In 2007, West Feliciana Parish residents recognized that opportunities such as the construction of the James Audubon Bridge over the Mississippi River and the influx of development along Highway 61 also represented risks for their community.
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In September 2010, Capital One Bank in partnership wtih CPEX initiated the Small Business Training Program to provide training, support and capital to a group of individual small businesses located within the Old South Baton Rouge, Mid City and Scotlandville communities, some with little or no formal business training.
Read More» Proving that Government Street in Baton Rouge can be a vibrant destination—a place not only for the automobile, but where people can walk, bike, or ride in their wheelchair to the businesses and amenities that make for a great quality of life.
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The Arts Council and Center for Planning Excellence are pleased to announce that Lord Cultural Resources has been chosen as consultant firm for the Old South Baton Rouge Arts and Culture Initiative.
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