Summary Background
REGIONAL ECONOMIC ANALYSIS
The Capital Region’s most prominent feature is its location on both sides of the Mississippi River. This positions the region at the confluence of the deep-water Port of Greater Baton Rouge, the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway (GIWW), the metropolitan airport, three interstate highways, and two major rail lines, as well as an extensive network of pipelines.
The transportation facilities and natural resources make the region the locus of a freight and logistics hub, which in turn supports a robust industrial corridor. Oil and natural gas feedstocks, conveyed from production sites to plants by pipeline and rail, support the large petrochemical industry. The deep-water port supports intense export activity into global markets.
CONNECTIVITY & LINKS
The interaction of transportation and land use play a central role in the regional economy. A Triple-Bottom Line Approach emphasizes close links among Economic Activity, Natural and Built Environments, and Equity/Inclusion that spreads benefits across all socio-economic levels. This update also uses concepts from Brookings Institute on rethinking economic development, which include Growing from Within; Boosting Trade; Investing in People and Skills; and Connecting to Place.
GEOGRAPHY & LOCATION
Where Are We?
Baton Rouge is Louisiana’s State Capital. The Capital Region Planning Commission is the EDA Economic Development District (EDD) for our eleven-parish, 40+-municipality region, located on either side of the Mississippi River. Our member parishes are Ascension, East Baton Rouge, East Feliciana, Iberville, Livingston, Pointe Coupee, St. Helena, Tangipahoa, Washington, West Baton Rouge, and West Feliciana. Nine of the parishes make up the Baton Rouge Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA): Ascension, East Baton Rouge, East Feliciana, Iberville, Livingston, Pointe Coupee, St. Helena, West Baton Rouge, and West Feliciana. Not included in the MSA are Tangipahoa Parish, a separate, singleparish MSA, and Washington Parish, a rural, non-MSA parish.
CRPC is also the U.S. Department of Transportation designated MPO, responsible for transportation planning for the urbanized areas of five of its parishes. The MPO study/planning area includes all East Baton Rouge and Ascension Parishes and the urbanized portions of West Baton Rouge, Livingston and Iberville Parishes. Beyond its established boundaries, the Capital Region is one anchor of Louisiana’s “Super Region” that links the Baton Rouge and New Orleans MSAs. With a combined regional population of over 2.5 million, projected to grow to nearly 2.7 million by 2026 (Data Center of New Orleans figures), this region is
larger than Charlotte, NC. Major industries include professional, scientific and technical services, which can support advanced industry development described below.
In 2014, over 30,000 workers commuted from New Orleans to Baton Rouge, while just under 30,000 drove the other way. This represented a 26% increase in cross-metro commuting since 2004 and is a significant contributor to the Capital Region’s growing traffic congestion. Major shared goals are upgrading of transportation facilities to enhance connectivity. This includes the desire for high-speed rail service between the two cities.
CRPC’S ROLE IN REGIONAL RESILIENCE
CRPC’s role and function within the Capital Region economy include:
- Regional convener and facilitator of collaborative initiatives;
- Transportation planning as regional MPO;
- Collector, Aggregator and Provider of regional data, analysis and mapping;
- Building capacity for regional resilience
- Continue to coordinate and staff the Louisiana Supply Chain and Transportation Council;
- Continue to facilitate development of Freight/Volpe Partnership planning and modeling for sugar industry supply chains.
- Coordinate regional planning for the Louisiana Watershed Initiative.