Toward a Vibrant Downtown Shreveport

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Shreveport is in the northwest corner of Louisiana, serves as the seat of Caddo Parish, and is historically the economic and cultural hub of the ArkLaTex region. In the mid-20th century, Shreveport had a thriving downtown district and was a cultural and commercial destination. Shreveport played a central role in developing the American music scene, providing opportunities for some of the country's most famous musicians, including Hank Williams and Elvis Presley. Over the past few decades, Shreveport's downtown area has declined. The once lively streets are now lined with vacant buildings and sparse commercial activity. Historic buildings have been demolished to make room for surface level parking lots and suburban-style development. Despite the decades of stagnate economic development, Shreveport finds itself poised to regain its economic and cultural prominence. Shreveport Mayor Cedric Glover requested the CPAT program to help with the city's downtown revitalization efforts.

The team's report focuses on improving walkability and transportation options in the downtown area. The team used a comprehensive approach to recommend ways to provide access to both new development and renovations as well as propose adaptive reuses of historic spaces. It was critical to build consensus with stakeholders and the community on ways in which walkability and transit choices can be enhanced and economic and housing choices developed, while at the same time preserving the charm and character of this historical area. Recommendation areas include code improvements, transportation and streetscape enhancements, wayfinding and identity, parking management strategies, commercial redevelopment, and edge community redevelopment opportunities.

Meet the Team

Team Leader

Robert H. Lurcott, FAICP

Bob Lurcott has been an independent planning and development consultant for 20 years, working mainly in southwestern Pennsylvania. His prior planning experience includes management positions with the Boston Redevelopment Authority and the Philadelphia City Planning Commission. He served as city planning Director for the City of Pittsburgh for 12 years and as vice president for district development at the Pittsurgh Cultural Trust for five years, using the arts as a vehicle for economic development. As Pittsburgh planning director, Lurcott oversaw the city’s Renaissance II downtown development effort, and managed the development of Strategy 21, the city, county, and university economic development program that garnered $450 million in state aid.

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Team Member

Sara Egan, AICP

Sara Egan has been an associate at Design Workshop for seven years. Her experience ranges from regional open space and natural resource planning to planning at the corridor and downtown scale. In addition, her background in both landscape architecture and planning has supported her role in detailed streetscape and park design. Her work on the Strategic Master Plan for the Petra Region was honored by APA with the Pierre L'Enfant International Planning Award. The Larimer County, Colorado "Finding Connections to the Outdoors for Youth and Families" effort was recognized at the national level by ASLA. Egan's role in multiple corridor planning projects was recently honored at the state and national levels by the American Society of Landscape Architects.

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Team Member

Emil Malizia, FAICP

Emil Malizia is professor, Department of City and Regional Planning, and director of the Institute for Economic Development at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. His expertise spans the related areas of regional economic development, real estate development, and urban redevelopment. For over four decades, he has conducted research, taught graduate-level and in-service courses, and engaged in consulting for private, nonprofit, and public clients. He is the author or co-author of five books and over 150 scholarly articles, monographs, and other publications. During leaves, he has been a senior real estate adviser to a major life company, a visiting professor, a special assistant in federal service, and a Fulbright Senior Scholar. He has served on CPAT teams in Greensboro and Matthews, North Carolina.

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Team Member

Jeremy Nelson

Jeremy Nelson is the president of REgeneration Strategies, where he advises public- and private-sector clients on land use and transportation planning, urban design and placemaking, and real estate development projects. Throughout his 15-year career he has executed on a wide variety of projects that have catalyzed consensus, revitalized communities, and delivered lasting economic benefits. Nelson has worked at organizations that include the City of Portland Planning Bureau, Group 4 Architecture + Design, Livable City, and the Land Use and Transportation Coalition. Most recently, he was a vice president at Vialta Group and a principal and practice leader at Nelson\Nygaard Consulting where he managed multimodal transportation projects as well as a variety of public-private infill redevelopment projects.

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Team Member

Renae' Ollie

Renee' Ollie is currently director of development services for the City of Wylie, Texas, where she oversees the process of planning, entitling, permitting, and inspecting development and redevelopment projects including review of construction and development plans for compliance with building and development codes to ensure community functionality and aesthetics. Ollie is immediate past president of APA's Texas Chapter and a member of APA's Urban Design and Preservation Division. Previously, she was state secretary and listserv manager for the chapter. She holds Bachelor of Architecture from Prairie View A&M University and a Master of City Planning from Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

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