Vision 2035 Charts Bold Future: A Plan to Make New Orleans a Great Place to Live, Learn, Work, and Visit
10-Year Regional Vision and Action Plan with Multiple Agencies Addresses Quality of Life, Economic Opportunity, and Cultural Sustainability Through Collaborative Action
NEW ORLEANS, LA – December 9, 2025 - New Orleans & Company, in partnership with Greater New Orleans Foundation, Greater New Orleans Inc., Jefferson Economic Development Commission, New Orleans Chamber, and Urban League of Louisiana, today announced the release of the Greater New Orleans Region Vision Plan 2035, a comprehensive 10-year long-term roadmap, designed to enhance the region into a harmonious place to live, learn, work, and visit.
The Vision 2035 plan represents a fundamental shift in how the region approaches growth and development, recognizing that the forces that hinder visitor experiences are the same forces impacting quality of life for those who live and work in the region. Through extensive community engagement with more than 250 stakeholders, including nonprofit leaders, employers, city departments, and community members, the plan's framework focuses on five interconnected pathways:
- Enhance Economic Opportunity
- Invest in Our Neighborhoods
- Connect & Enhance the Amenities of the Region
- Sustain Our Cultural Heart & Soul
- Tell Our Full and Authentic Story.
Each pathway contains specific outcomes and interventions designed to create measurable progress over the next decade.
"This plan is about ensuring Greater New Orleans is a place where our families can thrive for generations to come," said Walt Leger III, President and CEO of New Orleans & Company. "Our residents deserve safe neighborhoods, good jobs with real opportunities to advance, reliable ways to get around, and a city that works for them every day. This isn't just about attracting more visitors. It's about building a stronger foundation so that the people who live here, work here, and create here can build better lives. When we get this right, everyone benefits - residents, businesses, and visitors. I want to thank Alice Glenn, our Executive Vice President, Trepwise, the steering committee and all of the partners who came together to build this roadmap for our future.”
The plan also identifies 10 critical leverage points for systemic change:
- Connect Voices Across the Region to Address Community Needs: Ensure all layers of the community are included in the design of and communications about regional quality of life
- Connect All Residents, Businesses, and Visitors Through Great Transportation: Make it possible for residents and visitors to move easily to, from and around the region via all modes of transportation
- Shape and Support Dynamic Neighborhoods: Ensure every neighborhood has the resources and assets it needs to thrive
- Increase Prosperity for Small Business and Entrepreneurs: Enhance small business corridors as unique, thriving, walkable, and diverse places of commerce
- Boost the Economy Through Strong Industries, Competitive Workplaces, Innovation, and Great Jobs: Grow industry opportunity; coordinate support for workers, job seekers, entrepreneurs, and workplaces to provide access to career choices, training, and growth
- Make Our Region a More Youth-Friendly Place: Enhance Greater New Orleans as a youth-friendly city by providing exceptional experiences for young residents and family-oriented visitors
- Increase High Quality Green Space in the Greater New Orleans Experience: Lead and innovate the way we live with nature through the design of green space in current and future community development
- Maintain a World Class Asset Portfolio: Reimagine a portfolio of unique, diverse, and innovative attractions that tell our story (e.g. Riverfront, Armstrong Park, Lincoln Beach, Lakefront, etc.)
- Celebrate and Sustain Our Cultural Economy: Partner with organizations to support economic empowerment, visibility, and leadership of the cultural community
- Become a Leader in Extreme Weather Innovation and Adaptation: Advance our region as a hub for weather (water, wind, heat, etc.) innovation through education, infrastructure developments, and practices that build a future-ready region, prepared to lead through changing conditions
The Vision 2035 plan acknowledges both the region's remarkable cultural assets and the systemic challenges that threaten long-term prosperity. From infrastructure limitations to workforce dissatisfiers like transportation and housing affordability, the plan does not shy away from tackling the sticky, hard challenges that impact living in and visiting New Orleans. It takes a systems-change approach to address root causes rather than symptoms.
“My transition team has been briefed on the Vision 2035 plan and we are excited to see how much alignment exists between my vision and transition committee recommendations and the leverage points developed by the diverse stakeholders of the plan,” added New Orleans Mayor-Elect Helena Moreno. “I look forward to continuing to work together to ensure meaningful progress toward these shared goals in partnership with the Vision 2035 team.”
"Vision 2035 represents more than just a strategic plan, it's a commitment to invest in what the families of our city need to thrive," said Arnel Cosey, Strategy and Impact Officer for Clover. "We're not just changing outcomes for them today; we're reshaping the trajectory of entire families and neighborhoods for generations to come."
The Vision 2035 Plan was developed by strategy consultants Trepwise as a follow-up to the New Orleans 2030 Master Plan, which was adopted in 2009 and developed by Boston Consulting Group (BCG). That earlier plan called for transformative projects including a new modernized Louis Armstrong International Airport and riverfront development—both of which have seen progress and become integral to the city's ongoing transformation.
The new plan identifies a set of phase one interventions that partners can start on now. An implementation committee will help coordinate across partners, track progress, and keep the work centered on resident outcomes. Issue-specific initiative committees will drive projects within each leverage point and help align policies, programs, and funding.
New Orleans & Company will play a key role as convener, storyteller, and partner but the successful plan implementation will depend on collaboration with local government, regional agencies, business and industry, cultural organizations, and community groups.
“We commend New Orleans & Company for having the vision and integrity to include regional partners in their planning process,” said JEDCO President and CEO Jerry Bologna. “It is advantageous that JEDCO and New Orleans & Company are releasing complementary plans at the same time to capitalize on our regional strength and strategic advantages. We are most effective when we are aligned and working in tandem to best serve our entire region. We appreciate the opportunity to be included in this plan and look forward to a long partnership with our partners in New Orleans.”
“This plan recognizes that economic growth and quality of life are inseparable,” said Michael Hecht, President and CEO of Greater New Orleans, Inc. "GNO, Inc. is proud to have served on the steering committee and to support a vision that strengthens how our region works together. When aligned across parishes and sectors, Greater New Orleans can strengthen transportation, housing, workforce pathways, and quality of life in ways no single entity could do alone. This plan helps build the community our residents deserve."
"The Vision 2035 plan represents a critical step forward for businesses in our region," said Sandra Lombana Lindquist, President & CEO of the New Orleans Chamber of Commerce. "This regional approach recognizes that business success is directly tied to the strength of our communities and the well-being of our workforce.”
The full Greater New Orleans Region Vision Plan 2035 is available here.
