Atchafalaya River Coastal Hub (ARCH)

In partnership with St. Mary Parish and St. Mary Excel, the Water Institute led the development of a stakeholder-informed strategic plan for a coastal hub focused on Atchafalaya River basin communities. In 2018, residents and decisionmakers in St. Mary Parish, Louisiana commissioned the Urban Land Institute (ULI) to identify strategies to enhance job creation and reduce population loss throughout the Parish. The ULI determined that the creation of a coastal hub would be a key long-term goal of the region.

The Approach

Given St. Mary Parish’s rich history of technological innovation and its topographical characteristics, as well as the recent designation of a National Estuarine Research Reserve (NERR) in the Atchafalaya River Basin, the Parish was identified as an ideal location for collaborative research and coastal-focused pilot projects that could be hosted through the Atchafalaya River Coastal Hub. The Water Institute worked directly with residents and local stakeholders to determine how the Atchafalaya River Coastal Hub could best serve the communities of the lower Atchafalaya Basin.

This year-long planning effort to develop a strategic plan for the Atchafalaya River Coastal Hub began in August 2024 and used a structured decision-making framework to ensure that the priorities for the hub were defined by stakeholders from various sectors working in and representing the Atchafalaya Basin at both the local and state level.

The Atchafalaya River Coastal Hub (ARCH) Strategic Plan is now complete and ready for implementation. This community-driven roadmap outlines strategies for building long-term resilience, protecting critical infrastructure, and unlocking new opportunities for economic and environmental innovation in coastal Louisiana.

Atchafalaya River Coastal Hub (ARCH)

The Approach

KEY TEAM MEMBERS