How to Approach the Regional Vision

Component Parts that Make Up the Whole

The Regional Vision is composed of three main components. In addition to this Introduction, the Regional Vision consists of two additional main components:

• Five strategic goals and objectives for housing and flood resilience; and 

• Case studies and other resources.

Each of these three components of the Regional Vision can be considered independently, but each also supports and enhances the others.

First, this Introduction provides readers with the background and context necessary to understand how and why the Regional Vision was developed and how to use and navigate it with the overall goal of supporting resilience efforts in Region Seven and beyond. 

Second, the heart of the Regional Vision is the strategic goals and objectives for housing and flood resilience. The Regional Vision is organized around increasing regional and local resilience in Region Seven in the face of population growth and transitions at the intersection of affordable housing and nature-based flood mitigation solutions:

• Goal One: Greaux nature-based solutions for community resilience.
• Goal Two: Greaux flood mitigation solutions through targeted infrastructure planning and investments.
• Goal Three: Greaux resilient, urban affordable housing options.
• Goal Four: Greaux resilient, rural affordable housing options.
• Goal Five: Greaux implementation and capacity-building efforts to increase resilience.

Within each goal, the Regional Vision lays out five objectives that can be adapted to fit a range of regional and local needs and contexts. These goals and objectives are supplemented with more than 50 detailed case studies that describe best and emerging practices, tools, and examples from Louisiana and other U.S. jurisdictions. 

The goals and the objectives were informed by the PROWL Work Group and through engaging other stakeholders in Louisiana. Of course, the goals and objectives included in the Regional Vision do not constitute an exhaustive list of every action that regional and local policymakers in Region Seven or elsewhere could take to increase resilience. Instead, these five goals and 25 objectives represent a starting point for consideration representing some priority actions and ideas that emerged throughout this work. 

The specifics of each goal are discussed in more detail in those parts of the Regional Vision; however, it is important to call out the crosscutting nature of Goal Five. Goal Five includes objectives related to community engagement, data, and regional governance and collaboration that are integral to implementing the preceding four goals. Therefore, it is intended that each of the first four goals be read and evaluated in tandem with Goal Five. The Regional Vision includes explicit connections and cross-linkages to Goal Five throughout Goals One through Four. 

Third, the goals and objectives are informed by relevant case studies and related resources. At the bottom of the page for each objective, blue boxes appear with information summarizing how other jurisdictions or nongovernmental entities are either considering or implementing a law, plan, policy, and/or project that aligns with a given objective.

In conjunction with this project, Georgetown Climate Center (GCC) has published more than 50 new case studies and resource summaries to supplement this Regional Vision. This includes 24 longer-form case studies featured in a report that provide a fuller picture of how a particular regional or local jurisdiction is tackling housing, flooding, equity, resilience, and/or population changes. The case studies and other resources were informed by informational interviews with over 80 practitioners and community leaders in charge of designing and overseeing this work. (For more information, see the Authors and Acknowledgements.) 

A few notes about the case studies and resource entries:

• The Regional Vision prioritizes relatable and scalable models from places similar to Louisiana. Wherever possible, the project team sought to acknowledge and lift up the work of jurisdictions and nongovernmental actors in Region Seven and neighboring watershed regions to inspire peer-to-peer sharing and actions from as near to home as possible. These resources are drawn from 12 states, with an emphasis on regions and local areas in the Gulf and Mid-Atlantic: Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, South Carolina, Texas, and Virginia. Examples and lessons drawn from these regions are easiest to apply to a Louisianan context because they feature similar geography or analogous impacts from flooding and other climate effects.
• There are no perfect, “one-size-fits-all” solutions. While the case studies and resource entries informing the Regional Vision are instructive for Region Seven, none of them are “perfect” examples of how to solve these challenging and complex issues. The project team found no single case study or resource that provides a point-for-point or model for what Region Seven is trying to accomplish. No other jurisdiction appears to be trying to integrate housing, flooding, equity, resilience, and population change concurrently in a single plan, ordinance, or policy. However, some jurisdictions are moving in this direction, or are making progress on discrete elements of what could eventually become a more holistic strategy. Therefore, the Regional Vision and accompanying case studies and resource entries draw analogous connections and recommendations that can be combined to facilitate more comprehensive planning and land-use efforts.  
• Region Seven is pioneering new approaches that will provide models for others. It is important to acknowledge the pioneering nature of the work that Region Seven and its partners are undertaking to address housing and flooding challenges. From a national perspective, they stand among some of the leaders on these ongoing issues. By starting to engage in more integrated discussions about housing, flooding, equity, resilience, and population changes, the intent is that Region Seven and others can be better positioned to work with and support communities and provide models for others to follow in the future. 

A Vision That is Inspirational and Achievable

As stated at the outset, Louisianans have always pulled together to meet the big challenges that confront them. This Regional Vision may be seen as audacious; however, what the project team, the PROWL Work Group, and other partners have conceived is a menu of many legal, planning, and policy options regional and local governments can consider and potentially implement to achieve big things for the region and the state.