About

Plan Baton Rouge is a master plan for the redevelopment of the downtown of Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Louisiana

Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...

. The plan is based on New Urbanist principles.

History

In July 1998 during a week-long charrette

Charrette

A charrette , is often Anglicized to charette and sometimes called a design charrette. It consists of an intense period of design activity.-Charrettes in general:...

, Plan Baton Rouge was first conceived as an idea by a group of town planners, architects, developers, property owners, elected officials, civic organizations, community groups, downtown workers, and residents.

Additional information

The plan has guided the growth that has been catalyzed by the State of Louisiana’s ambitious downtown building program. Additionally, the Plan seeks to preserve and strengthen the two historic neighborhoods of Spanish Town

Spanish Town

Spanish Town is the capital and the largest town in the parish of St. Catherine in the county of Middlesex, Jamaica. It was the former Spanish and English capital of Jamaica from the 16th to the 19th century...

 and Beauregard Town

Beauregard Town

Beauregard Town, also known as Beauregard Town Historic District, is a historic district in downtown Baton Rouge, Louisiana, anchored by Government Street. The historic district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. Its boundaries were increased twice in 1983, and once...

. It sets forth a strategy to restore the pedestrian character and sense of place of downtown for all of its citizens to enjoy. The plan was developed by a well-renowned consultant team led by Duany Plater-Zyberk; the team focused on the physical design of downtown, the connections between the amenities, the transportation challenges and the retail dynamics.

The plan’s flexibility seeks to serve Baton Rouge far into the future as witnessed with the evolution of the Shaw Center project and the opportunity seized by the private sector. Another initiative featured in the plan has already been realized with the creation of a public market, the Main Street Market, that has become a gathering place for the Baton Rouge community.

The plan identified areas where public action could leverage sustained private investment over time. Since 1998, the state and other public agencies have poured $400 million into downtown and the private sector has responded with over $200 million. Plan Baton Rouge has been recognized nationally for its success in focusing citizens and public agencies on a common goal.

Downtown Baton Rouge's future

As the 104 proposals in the plan are implemented, Downtown Baton Rouge will resume its traditional role as the vital center of the Parish

Parish

A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...

 and the active Capitol of Louisiana. Plan Baton Rouge will transform downtown into a 24-hour destination where residents and tourists will visit and recreate. More importantly, downtown will become a gathering place for the community.
Plan Baton Rouge was always envisioned as a model to be applied in other areas of the city using focused strategy to guide the growth and development of the area. Plan Baton Rouge has joined its efforts with the Mayor’s Smart Growth

Smart growth

Smart growth is an urban planning and transportation theory that concentrates growth in compact walkable urban centers to avoid sprawl and advocates compact, transit-oriented, walkable, bicycle-friendly land use, including neighborhood schools, complete streets, and mixed-use development with a...

 Task Force to bring principles of good planning and Smart Growth to other areas of the city. Plan Baton Rouge now has the opportunity to focus its efforts on another study area, Old South Baton Rouge

Old South Baton Rouge

Old South Baton Rouge is a project aimed to help revitalize the area between Louisiana State University and Downtown Baton Rouge. The area encompasses about three square miles...

. This is a natural extension of the Baton Rouge Area Foundation

Baton Rouge Area Foundation

Baton Rouge Area Foundation is a community foundation dedicated to enhancing the quality of life in Louisiana's capital region, and is registered with the IRS as a 501 tax-deductible nonprofit organization...

’s participation in on the Hope VI grant.

Related links

Center for Planning Excellence

Baton Rouge Area Foundation

Shaw Center for the Arts

Downtown Development District