CONNECT Coalition

CONNECT is CPEX''s ongoing initiative to connect people with greater transit, housing and workforce options throughout Southeast Louisiana.

Sign up here to join our growing membership base.  For updates on this work, including ways to get involved and lend you support, subscribe to our monthly newsletter. 

A Demand for Mobility

The Louisiana Speaks outreach and planning effort that followed hurricanes Katrina and Rita determined through an inclusive process with over 27,000 participants that inter-city commuter rail linking the Baton Rouge and New Orleans metro areas should be a priority for Louisiana.The region connecting these two major cities represents roughly half of the state’s population, jobs, and gross domestic product (GDP). As Baby Boomers retire and workforce supply shrinks, communities are increasingly competing to attract quality workers and business investment. With its cultural, intellectual, and infrastructural assets, the New Orleans/Baton Rouge region is poised to be a premier destination for economic development.

To successfully connect the metro areas, the region needs a dedicated source of long-term funding for rail and other transit options. Inseparable from transit investment is the need for directing equitable housing development along transit lines and creation of communities for current and future workforces that serve the major job centers along the New Orleans and Baton Rouge corridor.

Such funding and development patterns will electrify the region and position it as a prime location for growth and investment.

Why Organize Now?

In the New Orleans/Baton Rouge region, while various groups are advocating for more housing choices, evacuation options, transit, walkable and bikeable streets, etc., the larger conversation linking them together is absent. Excitement around the inter-city rail project represents an opportunity to coordinate these groups, and to create a strong unified voice.
With high expectations of continued federal funding for rail and livable communities, the New Orleans/Baton Rouge region is in need of a Coalition of champions to advance the vision that regional transit, accompanied by smart and equitable housing investments and a bit of good planning, can be a transformative asset. These united voices will be necessary in gaining support not only at the state level, but also as Louisiana joins in the regional transit conversation with Texas, Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia.

Strategy

With key local, regional, and national partners, Center for Planning Excellence is coordinating this Transit and Housing Task Force to pursue the following primary goals:

Build a knowledge base of best practices, economic analysis, and expert knowledge in transportation and transit oriented development to share with audiences and build a groundswell of support for transit and housing investment.

Develop a campaign to secure long-term sources of funding for transit systems in the region and across Louisiana.


The CONNECT Coalition is a joint effort by Center for Planning Excellence, the Baton Rouge Area Foundation, the Greater New Orleans Foundation, the Baton Rouge Area Chamber, AARP, the Louisiana Disaster Recovery Foundation and the University of New Orleans. This work is made possible by support from the Ford Foundation. Other groups representing public, private, and philanthropic interests have also participated and the list continues 
to grow.