Greauxing Resilience at Home: A Collection of Lessons and Case Studies from Louisiana and Beyond

Louisiana is one of the hardest-hit areas in the United States as extreme weather events and regular flooding become more frequent and intense. These challenges often fall “first and worst” on Black, Indigenous, and People of Color or “BIPOC” and low-income communities. This is especially true in the U.S. Gulf Coast region and the state of Louisiana. 

Over time, these challenges are being exacerbated by population increases and transitions as climate and non-climate drivers (e.g., people moving out of urban centers into more rural areas) influence where people choose — or are able — to live. 

In southeast Louisiana, resilient, affordable housing initiatives are critical to ensuring equitable adaptation that takes into consideration the myriad overlapping challenges facing all Louisianans, but especially those living in communities that have long borne a disproportionate burden of risk.

Over a two-year period between fall 2020 and spring 2022, Capital Region Planning Commission and Georgetown Climate Center partnered with dozens of people from government, private, and nonprofit sectors and community stakeholders in Region Seven of the Louisiana Watershed Initiative. The result of that partnership effort is Greauxing Resilience at Home: A Regional Vision (Regional Vision), a resource to inform Region Seven’s ongoing work to increase community resilience by promoting affordable housing and nature-based solutions. 

Regional and local governments in Region Seven can use the Regional Vision to identify potential legal, planning, and policy tools and projects to increase the affordability and availability of housing and the use of nature-based solutions. In addition, the Regional Vision offers insights for policymakers across Louisiana, throughout the Gulf Coast region, and nationally.

This companion report, Greauxing Resilience at Home: A Collection of Lessons and Case Studies from Louisiana and Beyond, is composed of 24 individual case studies developed by Georgetown Climate Center to support the Regional Vision. These 24 case studies, listed below, describe best and emerging practices, tools, and examples from Louisiana and other U.S. jurisdictions to make progress on these complex and challenging issues. These case studies are intended to provide transferable lessons and ideas for regional and local governments addressing housing and mitigating flood risk as integrated parts of comprehensive community resilience strategies. Collectively, these case studies present a suite, although not an exhaustive list of tools and approaches that can be used to facilitate any of these efforts.

  1. Miami-Dade County, Florida: Little River Adaptation Action Area Plan
  2. Mecklenburg County, North Carolina: Charlotte-Mecklenburg Storm Water Services, Risk Assessment/Risk Reduction (RARR) Tool
  3. City of New Orleans, Louisiana: Gentilly Resilience District Projects
  4. City of North Miami, Florida: Good Neighbor Stormwater Park and Repetitive Loss Master Plan
  5. City of Houston, Texas: Resilient Houston and Affordable Housing and Nature-Based Efforts
  6. St. John the Baptist Parish, Louisiana: Resilient Planning, Affordable Housing, Environmental, and Funding Initiatives
  7. City of Asheville, North Carolina: Affordable Housing, Environmental, and Climate Resiliency Initiatives
  8. City of Atlanta, Georgia: Prioritizing Affordable Housing and Nature in the Face of New Growth
  9. City of Austin, Texas: Affordable Housing and Green Infrastructure Efforts
  10. City of Norfolk, Virginia: PlaNorfolk 2030, Norfolk Vision 2100, and Resilience Zoning Updates
  11. City of Baton Rouge–Parish of East Baton Rouge, Louisiana: Imagine Plank Road Plan for Equitable Development
  12. City of Baton Rouge–Parish of East Baton Rouge, Louisiana: Ardendale Master Plan and Guiding Principles
  13. City of Columbia, South Carolina: Columbia Compass: Envision 2036 and Affordable Housing Task Force
  14. City of Baton Rouge–Parish of East Baton Rouge, Louisiana: Scotlandville Community Strategic Plan
  15. City of Charlotte, North Carolina: Pilot Naturally Occurring Affordable Housing (NOAH) Subsidy Program
  16. City of Richmond, Virginia: Maggie Walker Community Land Trust and Richmond Land Bank
  17. City of Boulder, Colorado: Affordable Housing, Manufactured Housing, and Environmental Plans and Initiatives
  18. City of Denham Springs, Louisiana: Denham Strong Long-Term Community Recovery Plan
  19. City of Donaldsonville, Louisiana: Donaldsonville Strategic Plan 2020–2025
  20. Town of Warrenton, Virginia: Fauquier Habitat for Humanity Haiti Street Neighborhood Revitalization
  21. City of Gonzales, Louisiana: Gonzales Comprehensive Plan
  22. City of New Orleans, Louisiana: Resilient Housing Prototype in the Seventh Ward
  23. City of Portland, Oregon: Planning and Zoning for Manufactured Housing Communities
  24. Town of Washington, Virginia: Rush River Commons Mixed-Use Development

 

Publication Date: June 16, 2022

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  • Best practice
  • Case study
  • Engagement
  • Laws
  • Legal Analysis
  • Plans (other)
  • Policy analysis/recommendations
  • Regulation
  • Tool (general)
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