Dozens of students from Louisiana State University (LSU) are introducing new and improved ways for Southwest Louisiana to become coastal resistant.
According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, coastal resilience refers to shorelines absorbing and rebounding from flooding and destructive waves.
LSU Architecture student Jerund Sanders said this project allowed him and his classmates to learn about climate change issues in small communities.
"It gave me a new perspective about it," Sanders said. "I'm not from here. I'm from Madison, MS, so flooding and all of that stuff is not my territory."
Residents who live in small towns like Jennings are subject to flooding, wetlands, and being compromised by rising sea levels.
Sydney Milligan is studying Landscape Architecture at LSU with Sanders.
She said the proposals she and her classmates are creating may help boost the economy in underdeveloped areas.
"We're proposing changes to current parking to parallel parking for easy access to storefronts," Milligan said. "This also increases visibility to make more people go Downtown."
The LSU Tigers continue creating renditions of new housing developments, elevated sidewalks, and other infrastructure improvements for areas like Jennings and Vinton, in hopes of encouraging local politicians to support revitalization and development.
