MPG presents at Smarth Growth conference in Albuquerque

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Patrick Moore, (318) 445-2825
Date: January 29, 2009

Moore Planning Group's Lake Charles Strategy Gets High Marks at International Planning Conference

If you ask national planners and policy makers, Lake Charles, Louisiana stands out not just for its comprehensive downtown master plan, but for its system of ensuring the plan comes to life. The city’s story and strategy were presented by Patrick Moore, managing principle, Moore Planning Group in Alexandria/Baton Rouge, Oliver “Rick” Richard, City of Lake Charles Downtown Development Authority chairman and Lori Marinovich, executive director, City of Lake Charles Downtown Development Authority, at the Eighth Annual New Partners for Smart Growth Conference in Albuquerque, New Mexico, January 22-24, 2009.
 
The conference attracted nationwide policy makers, planners and elected officials who sought strategies for making cities livable and sustainable. Moore, Richard and Marinovich spoke about Lake Charles’ success in a workshop entitled: Response, Resilience, Revitalization and New Louisiana, which discussed Louisiana’s push toward sustainable planning in the post-hurricane era and zeroed in on Lake Charles’ comprehensive plan. In addition to a new lakefront design, the city has deployed a formal decision-making matrix to prioritize projects, part of an exhaustive implementation strategy.
 
The strategy and matrix were developed by Moore Planning Group, consultant to Lake Charles, which specializes in design, planning and implementation. “The matrix helps cities choose where to place their civic energy and resources first, by combining the community’s vision with feasibility studies, quality of life criteria and the resources necessary to enact projects,” said firm co-founder Moore.
 
National experts who attended the workshop are giving the process high marks.
 
“The decision-making matrix used in Lake Charles is an instrument of resilience,” said Thomas Dunbar, executive director of the national nonprofit Center for Resilient Cities, based in Madison, Wisconsin. “It puts the community in a position of being able to respond to change in the future. What’s significant about the Lake Charles story is that, in planning, the process of implementation is usually left out.”
 
Former Maryland Governor Parris Glendening, who heads the national advocacy group, Smart Growth America, added that such an implementation strategy could better position cities like Lake Charles for potential “shovel ready” construction funding from the new Obama administration.  
 
The DDA’s Marinovich says it was gratifying to compare Lake Charles to other cities nationwide also in the midst of planning. “We’re not just parks and promenades. We’re tying it into the bigger picture,” she said. “The Lake Charles project is really a model. We’re hitting all the right targets.”

Having a clear list of priorities, Marinovich added, is giving the city the ability to leverage its original $18 million bond issue for additional investment.
 
Moore, a 25-year planner, added that implementation is the one, single aspect of planning that can most impact a community’s success.
 
“Reshaping a city is hard work, there’s no doubt about it. If you want to be successful you have to get realistic about implementation,” he said. “When communities begin thinking strategically about what they want to accomplish and what’s required to make that happen, they’re not only creating an attractive setting, they’re building a sustainable future.”
 

For more information, Moore Planning Group, Alexandria, Louisiana at (318) 445-2825, www.mooreplanninggroup.com or the City of Lake Charles Downtown Development Authority at (337) 491-1429, www.cityoflakecharles.com.