2024 Deal of the Year Awards — an annual recognition of economic development projects demonstrating innovation and impact.

CALL FOR ENTRIES: 2024 Deal Of The Year Awards
Submit By November 21st!

Infographic: Louisiana’s SoLA Super Region

The New Orleans and Baton Rouge metro areas, and the four parishes of the Bayou Region have banded together to form what they tout as an economic juggernaut — the 23-parish SoLA Super Region.

The following is a guest contribution by John Egan, Editor in Chief, LawnStarter

If Baton Rouge and New Orleans ever really had a chilly relationship, the animosity between Louisiana’s two biggest cities has thawed since Hurricane Katrina.

In 2005, Katrina and the subsequent levee failures flooded about 80 percent of New Orleans, with 70 percent of homes in the city sustaining damage, according to The Data Center. Throughout Louisiana, nearly 1,000 people died as a result of Katrina.

Eighty miles to the northwest of New Orleans, Baton Rouge was unscathed by Katrina. Thus, thousands of New Orleans residents fled their hurricane-battered city and sought refuge in Baton Rouge. In the eyes of some, the disaster paved the way for the eventual transformation of the two cities from “frenemies” to partners.

“Hurricane Katrina made the communities of New Orleans and Baton Rouge realize that neither people nor water respects political boundaries,” says Michael Hecht, president and CEO of Greater New Orleans Inc.

Today, Hecht says, New Orleans and Baton Rouge are “practically and psychologically integrated.”

They’re so integrated, in fact, that the New Orleans metro area, the Baton Rouge metro area and the four parishes of the Bayou Region have banded together to form what they tout as an economic juggernaut — the 23-parish SoLA Super Region.

Together, New Orleans, Baton Rouge and the Bayou Region collaborate on issues like economic development, education reform and transportation, according to Hecht.

“When we team up, we are a political force to be reckoned with,” Adam Knapp, president and CEO of the Baton Rouge Area Chamber of Commerce, told the Greater Baton Rouge Business Report in 2015.

Hecht says creation of the SoLA Super Region — which he describes as a high-culture, low-cost place to do business — was necessary to compete economically with the likes of Houston, TX, a megaregion with about 4 million more residents than SoLA. Why compete alone, Hecht asks, when you’re stronger as a unified force?

“Divided we fall, united we thrive,” he declares.

To learn more about the SoLA Super Region, check out the infographic from LawnStarter below:

SoLA Super Region

Relocating or Expanding Your Business In Louisiana

Considering Louisiana for your company’s relocation or expansion project? Check out Business Facilities’ Louisiana Incentives and Workforce Development Guide.

Daily News, Economic Development, Featured, Infrastructure & Logistics, Louisiana, Site Selection Factors, USA - Southeast

Baton Rouge Area Chamber of Commerce, Economic Development, Employment, Greater New Orleans, Hurricane Katrina, infographic, LawnStarter, louisiana, Site Selection, Workforce Development

Sponsored Content
Featured Location

Location Spotlight: Explore Minnesota

With a diverse economy built on industry-leading companies, thriving small businesses, high innovation rates, world-class infrastructure and a skilled, educated, and engaged workforce, there’s room for everyone to thrive.

Featured Video

Camp Hall – A Next Generation Commerce Park in South Carolina

Camp Hall is a first-of-its-kind, master-planned industrial work space located in Charleston, S.C. As a convergence of people, place and programming, Camp Hall delivers thoughtful infrastructure and logistical features that empower people — and business — to thrive.

Webinars, Podcasts & Videos

Minnesota is home to the #1 health care cluster in the world according to Medical Alley. In this short video we take a look at why.

Doing Business in Minnesota, a Microbiologics Perspective

Minnesota is a place where the stars align — geography, culture and institutions – to create an unmatched economic landscape. See why Microbiologics CEO Kristen Knox says there’s no place in the world she’d rather do business than in Minnesota.

Camp Hall – A Next Generation Commerce Park in South Carolina

Camp Hall is a first-of-its-kind, master-planned industrial work space located in Charleston, S.C. As a convergence of people, place and programming, Camp Hall delivers thoughtful infrastructure and logistical features that empower people — and business — to thrive.

Manufacturing Success In The 21st Century

Watch Now: Manufacturing Success In The 21st Century

View this free video webinar and learn about the strategies for success manufacturing leaders are using to grow their business in the 21st Century.

Share to...