Community-Centered Resilience: Lessons from Louisiana

The document outlines a resilience planning framework in Louisiana that utilizes extensive community engagement to identify challenges and develop project portfolios. Through 71 community meetings and the participation of 2,835 individuals in 2017, the process identified key strategies such as improved drainage, coastal restoration, and affordable housing. The 'LA SAFE' approach combined community-rated strategies with flood risk data to create draft projects across six parishes, focusing on high-ground growth corridors and supply chain planning.

• The resilience planning process in 2017 involved significant public outreach, consisting of 71 community meetings with 2,835 individual participants to identify challenges and propose strategies.
• The 'LA SAFE' methodology integrated the most highly rated community strategies with existing parish efforts and future flood risk data to develop draft projects.
• The selected project portfolio based on popular community strategies includes diverse infrastructure and social needs, such as improved drainage systems, coastal restoration and jobs training, affordable housing options, and the creation of a full-time drain maintenance department.

APA

Sanders, M. D., Russell, L. W., Jr., D. B., & Kozak, J. (2019). Community-Centered Resilience: Lessons from Louisiana. Environmental and Energy Study Institute. https://www.eesi.org/files/Mathew_Sanders_110619.pdf

Chicago

Sanders, Mathew D., Liz Williams Russell, Donald Bogen, Jr., and Justin Kozak. Community-Centered Resilience: Lessons from Louisiana. Environmental and Energy Study Institute, 2019. https://www.eesi.org/files/Mathew_Sanders_110619.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Sanders |first1=Mathew D. |last2=Russell |first2=Liz Williams |last3=Jr. |first3=Donald Bogen, |last4=Kozak |first4=Justin |title=Community-Centered Resilience: Lessons from Louisiana |publisher=Environmental and Energy Study Institute |date=6 November 2019 |url=https://www.eesi.org/files/Mathew_Sanders_110619.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{sanders2019communitycentered, author = {Sanders, Mathew D. and Russell, Liz Williams and Jr., Donald Bogen, and Kozak, Justin}, title = {{Community-Centered Resilience: Lessons from Louisiana}}, institution = {Environmental and Energy Study Institute}, year = {2019}, month = nov, url = {https://www.eesi.org/files/Mathew_Sanders_110619.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }