St. John the Baptist, La
Resilient Housing Plan

From 2022-2024, Desire Line supported St. John the Baptist Parish in conducting a multi-agency Resilient Housing Plan process with extensive public participation.

This process was funded by a grant from EPA and conducted in coordination with Smart Home America, the Mississippi State University Gulf Coast Community Design Studio (GCCDS), Louisiana Sea Grant, and Desire Line LLC as the consultant. This process was one of three nationally-selected jurisdictions to pilot the use of the “Resilient Housing Planning Guide” published by GCCDS and Smart Home America. It included the use of the Coastal Resilience Index process as part of the U.S. Climate Resilience Toolkit. This process also built on the LA SAFE planning process and hazard mitigation project planning on behalf of the Parish.  

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This plan included an inventory of existing housing stock, including its density, age, elevation, and potential exposure to flood and wind hazards; an analysis of projected Parish population changes and social vulnerability; an inventory of current and upcoming resilience and flood protection projects; and an analysis of emergency response capabilities as well as recovery housing needs.

In conducting the analysis and speaking with residents through multiple public events and platforms (including online surveys and paper surveys), the project team identified poverty and the rising costs of living and insurance premiums as significant drivers of risk in St. John.

The recommendations and implementation actions resulting from this plan focused on not just mitigating flood risk to homes through elevation and drainage projects, but also reducing poverty and increasing opportunities for families in the region.

This plan included a review of potential mitigation and housing affordability strategies such as:

  1. A damage and Loss Reduction Action Plan,

  2. Actionable Disaster Housing Plan Elements,

  3. Community and Stakeholder Education Plan,

  4. Strategic Funding Plan,

It also recommended improvements to the GCCDS “Resilient Housing Planning Guide” for the benefit of additional communities nation-wide.