Planning directors from the parishes and municipalities of greater New Orleans will convene in June 2011 at a series of digital charrettes to create a regional growth framework derived from local comprehensive plans. Using INDEX scenario planning software in real-time, the local planners will fashion a transect-based framework of regional sectors to guide open space preservation, infill and redevelopment, and compact, mixed-use growth in multi-modal centers and corridors. INDEX modeling will be the culmination of a year-long visioning process by the parishes of Jefferson, Orleans, Plaquemines, St. Bernard, and St. Tammany, and their municipalities. Under the sponsorship of the Regional Planning Commission (www.norpc.org), the group has formulated five planning themes: vitalization and revitalization, resiliency, accessibility, prosperity, and preservation. Using INDEX, the group will apply these principles to the region's geography, and in doing so create a bottom-up growth framwork that strengthens the integration of local land-use planning with regional transportation planning.

INDEX was selected after a national survey and evaluation of scenario software tools was completed for the RPC by the University of New Orleans. According to Wendel Dufour, a Director of the School of Planning and Urban Studies, INDEX was recommended because of its "strong platform for developing a regional vision, support for future activities of the RPC, relatively low cost, training, and compatibility with the RPC's GIS."

INDEX is a suite of interactive GIS tools for scenario planning and place-making offered by Criterion Planners (www.crit.com) of Portland, Oregon. Introduced in 1994, the tool is now licensed to over 200 organizations nationally to identify area strengths and weaknesses, create and evaluate alternative futures, and monitor the implementation of adopted plans. It is distinguished by its combination of land-use and multi-modal travel network modeling, and its California-compliant assessment of greenhouse gas emissions.