I remember my first bike without training wheels. It had a sparkly pink exterior with stunning iridescent streamers flowing from the handlebars. I rode my bike in circles around my neighborhood and over the hills of Highland Road Community Park, scraping knees and elbows along the way. Ten years later, I upgraded to a slightly larger and less colorful model and trepidatiously navigated the streets of Louisiana State University, dodging my peers on my way to class.
President Joe Biden’s visit to Lake Charles and New Orleans highlighted his $2.3 trillion proposal that includes provisions to fix roads, bridges, and ports; modernize public transit; and improve climate resilience. In Louisiana these traditional infrastructure investments are sorely needed. However, as a community-centered planner, I want us to also have a long-overdue conversation about how we invest in people-first infrastructure that addresses our growing vulnerability to climate change.
Too many Louisiana families live on the edge of hunger. Since beginning our partnership with UrbanFootprint, we’ve uncovered sobering data around the impact of COVID-19 on our state’s food security crisis. Our most recent analysis reveals that, since the start of the pandemic, the number of food-insecure households in Louisiana have increased by 44%. Of these households, 69% have not had access to nutritionally adequate food in the past week. And this crisis is disproportionately affecting communities of color, in low-income neighborhoods -- families that are already living on the margins of poverty and limited socioeconomic opportunity.
Here in Louisiana we find ourselves in the middle of a global conversation about decarbonizing the economy to combat the destructive impacts of climate change. This is undoubtedly a difficult conversation to have, because of our state’s long relationship with carbon-intense industries. But if we choose to ignore the changes going on all around us, we will fall behind environmentally and economically. As a planner who helps communities think ahead, I see a clear opportunity for all of us to play an active role in shaping Louisiana’s future. It’s time to let go of our attachment to business as usual, assess our situation, and focus on building an abundant future for our kids and grandkids.
CPEX has been so busy addressing needs that have emerged alongside the COVID-19 pandemic and hosting our virtual 2020 Smart Growth Summit, we haven’t had a chance to introduce our newest team member, Lyneisha Jackson. We were so excited to bring her GIS and wide-ranging planning expertise to CPEX, and she has already proven to be an invaluable member of the team. Read on to learn more about Lyneisha Jackson, Community Planner – and salsa dancer!
Having a good plan goes a long way. We know that a good plan can result in more livable, more resilient communities. In Louisiana, more livable and resilient communities means thinking about what lies ahead for a state that is, in every way, on the front lines of climate change.
We sat down with Beth Osborne, Director for Transportation for America, to discuss what the pandemic means for urban mobility and how those involved in planning, transportation, government, and advocacy can help build better cities.
For over a decade, the Center for Planning Excellence has been working to keep community needs at the forefront of the state’s resilience efforts, and we are proud to be a partner in the important work of the Adaptive Governance Initiative, which supports the executive order announced this week.
CPEX has partnered with UrbanFootprint to develop and deploy the COVID-19 Insights Platform -- a multi-layer dynamic data source that provides up-to-the- minute insights that can help service providers, nonprofits, and state and local governments get help to those who need it most as quickly and efficiently as possible.
