Living in the Mississippi Delta, many communities of Louisiana face unique challenges that threaten their safety, property and continuation of ways of life. While the state has a plan for restoration and preservation of the coastal environment, there is a need for further coordination between planning and engineering, developing and redeveloping, and desired development patterns and best practices, that must be explored and applied to adequately help communities in the coastal areas.

CPEX and the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority of Louisiana partnered to prepare a Best Practices Manual to serve as a resource and guide for coastal communities as they develop and redevelop their land. The Manual is an informative, easy-to-use resource that explains and illustrates the relevant strategies at various scales.

To implement these strategies, the Louisiana Coastal Land Use Toolkit was developed. This model development code contains the language needed to formalize risk reduction measures that are part of the community planning and development process — such as elevating homes and designing public infrastructure that has multiple benefits. The Coastal Toolkit is tailorable and can be adopted in whole or in part.