Former Pittsburgh mayor to address Smart Growth conference

The sixth annual Smart Growth Summit kicks off tonight with keynote speaker Tom Murphy, former Pittsburgh mayor and senior resident fellow with the Urban Land Institute. The summit, sponsored by the Center for Planning Excellence, will recognize communities and developments in Louisiana that excel in the areas of transportation options, housing options and access to services and amenities. “In recent years, Louisiana has seen a paradigm shift in how we think about planning,” says Elizabeth “Boo” Thomas, CPEX president. “It is no longer strictly about engineering; it is also about public participation, quality of life, health, preservation of assets and smart investment.” Thomas says this year’s summit will offer a timely chance to think about the economic side of these issues “How can we finance projects, live within our means and put people to work?” Thomas asks. Last year’s summit attracted more than 800 experts and audience members. This week, participants will include elected officials, city planners and developers, as well as practitioners in the areas of architecture, landscape architecture, planning, engineering, urban design, real estate and law. Topics of discussion will include coastal living, reclaiming communities hard hit by the recession, green building practices, transit-oriented communities, and other related issues. To learn more, visit summit.cpex.org. For a Business Report story about how the summit has changed over the years, click here. —Jeremy Alford