Blanco, Nagin, Vitter, Landrieu, Jefferson, Melancon to Participate in Louisiana Recovery and Rebuilding Conference

    NEW ORLEANS, Nov. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- The Louisiana Recovery and Rebuilding
 Conference scheduled for November 10th - 12th will feature speakers including
 Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco, U.S. Sens. David Vitter and Mary Landrieu,
 U.S. Reps. William Jefferson and Charles Melancon, and Lt. Gov. Mitch
 Landrieu.  New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin is also scheduled to speak, and
 numerous other local government officials are registered to participate.
     The planning and visioning conference, taking place at the New Orleans
 Marriott Hotel, is the first step in what is likely to be the largest
 rebuilding effort in U.S. history, and will develop design and planning
 principles that will guide Louisiana's post-Hurricane Katrina long-range
 rebuilding efforts. Conference sessions include, infrastructure, economic
 development, public services, environmental and public health, and community
 building.
     The conference is open to credentialed media who can register on-site.
 There will be daily press briefings at 3:00 p.m. Central Time, with a panel of
 conference speakers and highlights of the topical sessions available.
     The complete agenda is listed at: http://lrrc-prod.aia.org/lrrc_agenda.
 
     Invited participants respond in great numbers
     More than 400 of Louisianians contacted to participate registered by the
 registration deadline last Friday.  The conference has reached its maximum
 capacity and new registrants can no longer be added.  Those who will attend
 the conference include representatives of a broad range of local and state
 organizations, Louisiana citizens, religious and civic groups, community
 leaders, and public officials.
     An overflow room will be available for those who were unable to register
 for the conference.
 
     Instant electronic feedback capability for conference attendees
     As recommended planning principles for rebuilding Louisiana are developed
 by participants, and nationally recognized experts offer comments and
 suggestions, Louisiana citizens in attendance will be able to provide instant
 feedback on a range of planning and design principles and to rank their
 importance.  This feedback will be tabulated and analyzed in real-time by
 AmericaSpeaks (a non-partisan, non-profit organization that conducts citizen
 engagement projects) and will be part of the conference's final
 recommendations (results will be shared with media during daily press
 briefings at 3:00 p.m. Central Time).  Professional facilitators will assist
 small "table" discussions, as well as the regional break-outs.  They will help
 participants move through the process efficiently and smoothly, making sure
 that everyone's voice has an opportunity to be heard.
     After the conference the Louisiana Recovery Authority has plans for public
 meetings and design charettes (planning brainstorming sessions).  For more
 information, please contact the Louisiana Recovery Authority:
 http://www.lra.louisiana.gov/.
 
     About the Louisiana Recovery and Rebuilding Conference
     The conference is being presented by The American Institute of Architects
 (AIA), in collaboration with the American Planning Association (APA) and co-
 sponsored by the National Trust for Historic Preservation (NTHP) and the
 American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE).
 
     This event is significant for these reasons:
     * It is the first statewide post-hurricane planning conference for
       Louisiana. It sets the stage for the rebuilding process by addressing
       the fundamentals.
 
     * It is based upon the participation of, and feedback from, Louisiana
       citizens. Conference participants include a wide range of local
       stakeholders, citizens, public officials, community leaders, and
       businesspeople from the affected areas.
 
     * Presenters represent a diverse range of national and local planning,
       design, research, environmental, construction, infrastructure, public
       policy, and academic expertise.
 
     * The conference is being conducted in public, and the news media are
       invited to cover all sessions.
 
     It should be stressed that this is a strictly nonpartisan professional
 planning conference that is based upon a specific process of generating ideas,
 analyzing information, focusing discussions, and gathering instant feedback
 from participants. From this process will emerge a body of principles that
 ideally will guide statewide and local rebuilding efforts.
 
     Editor's note: The following are media contacts from the sponsoring
 organizations:
 
     Scott Frank* (AIA)
     202-626-7462
     240-305-5891 (c)
     sfrank@aia.org
 
     Roberta Rewers (APA)
     312-786-6395
     rrewers@planning.org
 
     Erin Angell (NTHP)
     202-588-6218
     erin_angell@nthp.org
 
     Joan Buhrman* (ASCE)
     703-295-6406
     571-213-3812 (c)
     jbuhrman@asce.org
 
     * Will be on-site at the conference
 
     CONTACT:  Scott Frank of the American Institute of Architects,
 +1-202-626-7467, (c) +1-240-305-5891 or sfrank@aia.org
 
 

SOURCE  American Institute of Architects