News release Public Information Office  SLU 10880   Hammond, LA 70402   phone: 985-549-2341   fax: 985-549-2061 publicinfo@selu.edu Spring 2004 news releases Public Information home News archive Contact: Rene Abadie Date: 4/13/05   SEN. LANDRIEU SPONSORS ‘SMART GROWTH’ SUMMIT AT SOUTHEASTERN APRIL 18        HAMMOND -- U.S. Senator Mary Landrieu will sponsor a summit on “Smart Growth in Louisiana Communities” – a forum designed to address challenges associated with rapid growth – at Southeastern Louisiana University on Monday, April 18.          The meeting, which is cosponsored with the Police Jury Association of Louisiana, runs from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Twelve Oaks, the university’s reception hall located on Texas Avenue.        “Stress on infrastructure caused by rapid growth, often exacerbated by the lack of proper planning and adequate research, can be detrimental to a community and region,” Landrieu said in announcing the summit. “By the same token, innovative and inspiring examples of smart growth development and infrastructure planning can create flourishing neighborhoods, dynamic streetscapes, and overall improvement in the quality of life for a community.”        Morning sessions will cover a variety of topics, including a general overview of community planning in Louisiana by attorney and urban planner Stephen Villavaso, president of Villavaso and Associates of New Orleans; implementing smart growth by Stephen Oubre of Architects Southwest of Lafayette, Elizabeth Thomas, executive director of Plan Baton Rouge and Patrick Moore of Moore Planning Group in Alexandria.         The luncheon speaker is Paul Zykofsky, director of land use and transportation programs for Local Government Commission of Sacramento, Calif. A manager of LGC’s Center for Livable Communities, he will speak on smart growth from coast to coast.        Afternoon sessions include discussions on rural lands and growth issues by Anna Kleiner, assistant professor of sociology at Southeastern, and Bill Hodge of Carroll County, Ga.; and smart transportation  by Zykofsky and Keith Villere, former mayor of Covington. A wrap-up session, “The Road from Here,” will be presented by Landrieu and Villavaso.        “We are pleased to host this important summit which will provide representatives of our state’s communities with valuable insight into how we can improve our communities in the face of significant issues and concerns related to growth,” said Southeastern President Randy Moffett.         The cost to attend the summit is $25 per person or $15 for college students and includes lunch.        Reservations can be made on line by visiting Landrieu’s Web site, www.landrieu.senate.gov, or by calling Rowdy Gaudet at the senator’s Southwest Louisiana regional office, 337-436-6650.        The summit is a follow up to programs sponsored previously by Landrieu, including the Fastest Growing Parishes/Smart Growth Summit I last year in New Orleans and a smart growth presentation she chaired at the 2004 Louisiana Municipal Association Conference.