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New Orleans and Baton Rouge Metropolitan Areas to Merge?


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There have been many reports, that in the near future, Greater New Orleans and Greater Baton Rouge could possibly merge, to form a New Orleans-Baton Rouge metropolitan area.

There has been talk of this happening for years, but after Katrina, talk has greatly increased.

After Hurricane Katrina, there are thousands of people who have moved out of the city of New Orleans, into the suburban parishes, and many who have moved to Baton Rouge's suburban parish's.

A good example of this is Tangipahoa Parish. A parish in the Greater New Orleans metro, but on the edge of where Greater Baton Rouge starts, was normally more rural than nearby parishes, but recently has seen a surge in development and population. This was called "the dead zone" between where the New Orleans development ended, and the Baton Rouge development started, but that is now completely gone.

Map_of_Louisiana_highlighting_Tangipahoa_Parish.png

Where the New Orleans metro ends, the Baton Rouge metro starts, and now that there are so many people living on the edges of the metro areas, I could see this merge happening.

Many future population projections have New Orleans with a city population of 200k-250k, and 900,000-1,100,000 in the metro area.

Projections have Baton Rouge with a city population of 250k-350k, and a metro population of 800,000-1,000,000. So if the two metro's were to merge, the single metro area would most likely have a population of around 2,000,000.

Any thoughts on this?

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The idea is intriguing, but I do think that the combined metro area would be difficult to manage. Baton Rouge and New Orleans have such different cultures that I don't think the two would blend terribly well. Mass transit including rapid (and I mean very rapid) rail might do something to change this, but I think the combination would be unwieldy at best.

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The idea is intriguing, but I do think that the combined metro area would be difficult to manage. Baton Rouge and New Orleans have such different cultures that I don't think the two would blend terribly well. Mass transit including rapid (and I mean very rapid) rail might do something to change this, but I think the combination would be unwieldy at best.

The thing is, Baton Rouge's culture will most likely change dramatically. Some population projections have 100,000 New Orleans residents moving to Baton Rouge. I dont know if this will happen, but if it were to occur, B.R.'s culture would have much more of a New Orleans flavor to it. Many people are already calling Baton Rouge "Baton Orleans" or "New Rouge."

And there is major studying going on concerning the New Orleans-Baton Rouge rapid Light-Rail Train that has been proposed. If it were to be constructed, it could really be a big difference maker in the merging/non merging of these two metros.

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There have been many reports, that in the near future, Greater New Orleans and Greater Baton Rouge could possibly merge, to form a New Orleans-Baton Rouge metropolitan area.

There has been talk of this happening for years, but after Katrina, talk has greatly increased.

After Hurricane Katrina, there are thousands of people who have moved out of the city of New Orleans, into the suburban parishes, and many who have moved to Baton Rouge's suburban parish's.

A good example of this is Tangipahoa Parish. A parish in the Greater New Orleans metro, but on the edge of where Greater Baton Rouge starts, was normally more rural than nearby parishes, but recently has seen a surge in development and population. This was called "the dead zone" between where the New Orleans development ended, and the Baton Rouge development started, but that is now completely gone.

Map_of_Louisiana_highlighting_Tangipahoa_Parish.png

Where the New Orleans metro ends, the Baton Rouge metro starts, and now that there are so many people living on the edges of the metro areas, I could see this merge happening.

Many future population projections have New Orleans with a city population of 200k-250k, and 900,000-1,100,000 in the metro area.

Projections have Baton Rouge with a city population of 250k-350k, and a metro population of 800,000-1,000,000. So if the two metro's were to merge, the single metro area would most likely have a population of around 2,000,000.

Any thoughts on this?

Long overdue!!!!

The merger of New Orleans and Baton Rouge gets my support- Austin, San Antonio,Atlanta,Dallas/FW/Miami Ft Lauredale already have metro areas that have the same land mass. What can we do to start marketing this new metropolis. I live in San Antonio and have visited New Orleans ,many times . During my visits I saw the shell of what is the best city in the South but lack visions. Baton Rouge is definitely on the rise. Another metro area to watch is Shreveport- Bossier

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Well, remember, we are separated by a lot of marsh, so we'll never truly merge. Also, the two cities are so different, culture-wise. People in B.R., from my experience knowing many natives and having lived there for four years, don't like N.O. I don't know if it was envy or a culture struggle. Who knows, but it's something that unfortunately has held us back for decades. Hopefully that will change. I'd like to see this happen, if not literally, economically and politically.

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Well, remember, we are separated by a lot of marsh, so we'll never truly merge. Also, the two cities are so different, culture-wise. People in B.R., from my experience knowing many natives and having lived there for four years, don't like N.O. I don't know if it was envy or a culture struggle. Who knows, but it's something that unfortunately has held us back for decades. Hopefully that will change. I'd like to see this happen, if not literally, economically and politically.

People in Forth Worth don't like Dallas;Oakland and San Francisco different cultures; Austin and San Antonio are not on the same page, etc etc. the diversity and difference makes a great metro area. Marsh???, a great bbody of water seperate SF and Oakland

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Those are both great points.

I'd like to see this happen, if not literally, economically and politically.

So would I. I think it could really help bring back parts southeaster Louisiana faster, help the economy around here, and overall just be a positive for the state.

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Marsh???, a great bbody of water seperate SF and Oakland

There's a huge difference between San Francisco/Oakland and New Orleans/Baton Rouge. San Francisco and Oakland are seperated by a large body of water,the difference is they are connected unlike NO and Baton Rouge.

New Orleans urban area is tightly wound within a certain area,it starts on the Jefferson border at Kenner and goes east to New Orleans east,it's on the West bank cities that are next to the river and extends a bit into St. Bernard. That's it.

If you live in San Francisco (I used to live in the San Francisco/Oakland/San Jose metro area) you can head south towards San Jose and then north towards Oakland and you would have been in a continously built up area that would feel like one huge city,there is continous urban development all along the bay from San Fran,down towards San Jose and up towards Oakland.

A metro area doesn't mean the whole area feels like one city,an urban area means that. So Baton Rouge and New Orleans may connect,but they're not really connected if you know what I mean. There's still a lot of empty space between them.

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A metro area doesn't mean the whole area feels like one city,an urban area means that. So Baton Rouge and New Orleans may connect,but they're not really connected if you know what I mean.

Thats true.

New Orleans and Baton Rouge will always be two different cities, but I think the influx of New Orleanians in Baton Rouge will bring the cities closer together.

Though the only thing that I could think of that would bring them physically closer together is the proposed high speed LRT train from New Orleans to Baton Rouge.

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There's a huge difference between San Francisco/Oakland and New Orleans/Baton Rouge. San Francisco and Oakland are seperated by a large body of water,the difference is they are connected unlike NO and Baton Rouge.

New Orleans urban area is tightly wound within a certain area,it starts on the Jefferson border at Kenner and goes east to New Orleans east,it's on the West bank cities that are next to the river and extends a bit into St. Bernard. That's it.

If you live in San Francisco (I used to live in the San Francisco/Oakland/San Jose metro area) you can head south towards San Jose and then north towards Oakland and you would have been in a continously built up area that would feel like one huge city,there is continous urban development all along the bay from San Fran,down towards San Jose and up towards Oakland.

A metro area doesn't mean the whole area feels like one city,an urban area means that. So Baton Rouge and New Orleans may connect,but they're not really connected if you know what I mean. There's still a lot of empty space between them.

Hey I live in the East Bay in Livermore and I know that Baton Rouge and New Orleans metro area have a lot more in common thant Oakland and San Francisco also Dallas Ft Worth. This merger of economic and land mass is long overdue. Both SF and New Orleans have given the USA so much culture

Thats true.

New Orleans and Baton Rouge will always be two different cities, but I think the influx of New Orleanians in Baton Rouge will bring the cities closer together.

Though the only thing that I could think of that would bring them physically closer together is the proposed high speed LRT train from New Orleans to Baton Rouge.

I think the high speed train will really merge both cities. By the way is Brooklyn and Manhatten have the same culture?????. New orleans should annex Metarie as a first step. They should also build a regional airport at Gonzales

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This is interesting news news.

There have been reports coming out of Baton Rouge, saying that the city of Baton Rouge could possibly merge with East Baton Rouge Parish.

If Baton Rouge were to do this, the city would become somewhat close to the size of Houston in land area, though it would still be smaller.

The pre-Katrina population of East Baton Rouge Parish was 412,852, if the population doesn't grow at all after Katina, and Baton Rouge merges with EBRP, it would become the 40th largest city in the country.(I believe)

But, estimates have the current population of East Baton Rouge Parish around 600,000, and population projections have the 2010 population of the parish between 500,000-700,000.

Again, these are just reports, but news on this should be reported soon.

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This is exiting news.

There have been reports coming out of Baton Rouge, saying that the city of Baton Rouge could possibly merge with East Baton Rouge Parish, like New Orleans did with Orleans Parish.

If Baton Rouge were to do this, the city would become somewhat close to the size of Houston in land area, though it would still be smaller.

The pre-Katrina population of East Baton Rouge Parish was 412,852, if the population doesn't grow at all after Katina, and Baton Rouge merges with EBRP, it would become the 40th largest city in the country.(I believe)

But, estimates have the current population of East Baton Rouge Parish around 900,000, and population projections have the 2010 population of the parish between 800,000-1,000,000.

This means that, it is actually possible that Baton Rouge could be one of the 12 largest American cities by 2010. :w00t:

Again, these are just reports, but news on this should be reported soon.

There were 800K in Baton Rouge after the storm. Most have gone, although a large number are still there.

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^I haven't been able to find any updates on the estimated population in East Baton Rouge Parish. 800K was the only estimate I was able to find, and that was from a few weeks ago.

I would think it would be closer to 600K now.

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Based on an LSU study that was released last month, immediately after the storm, there were thought to be 200,000 additional people in BR. At this time, according to the same study, it is estimated that about 50,000 additional people remain in BR.

Are these stats for the city of Baton Rouge or East Baton Rouge Parish? I stayed in Baton Rouge for two weeks after the storm, and I heard reports of an 200K people in the city, and upwards of 600K additional people in the parish.

At one point the mayor/president of BR was going to hold a press conference to ask President Bush for funds and supplies to handle the(accrording to the mayor) "800K-1,000,000" additional people in the parish, though this press conference never happened.

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There are still about 25 miles between the outer edges of Baton Rouge and the Outer edges of New Orleans and, as mentioned, along I-10 there is a great deal of marshland between the cities. The metro areas will likely meet along I-12. Presently there are areas of Livingston Parish just to the West of Hammond that are already interlocking, but, not connected. Many either commute to Baton Rouge or New Orleans to work on a daily basis.

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There are still about 25 miles between the outer edges of Baton Rouge and the Outer edges of New Orleans and, as mentioned, along I-10 there is a great deal of marshland between the cities. The metro areas will likely meet along I-12. Presently there are areas of Livingston Parish just to the West of Hammond that are already interlocking, but, not connected. Many either commute to Baton Rouge or New Orleans to work on a daily basis.

As Larry the Cable guy would say- Get er done

The New Orleans has the shell of the greatest city in the south but for pure laziness never got to that point. This is the time to restore the New Orleans(annex Metarie)/ Baton Rouge to the new unique Metroplex of the South. In high school in Indiana I read that Louisiana pound for pund has more natural resources than any other state in the nation. What gives- Baton Rouge could be the next Austin.

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  • 2 weeks later...

There have been many reports, that in the near future, Greater New Orleans and Greater Baton Rouge could possibly merge, to form a New Orleans-Baton Rouge metropolitan area.

There has been talk of this happening for years, but after Katrina, talk has greatly increased.

After Hurricane Katrina, there are thousands of people who have moved out of the city of New Orleans, into the suburban parishes, and many who have moved to Baton Rouge's suburban parish's.

A good example of this is Tangipahoa Parish. A parish in the Greater New Orleans metro, but on the edge of where Greater Baton Rouge starts, was normally more rural than nearby parishes, but recently has seen a surge in development and population. This was called "the dead zone" between where the New Orleans development ended, and the Baton Rouge development started, but that is now completely gone.

Map_of_Louisiana_highlighting_Tangipahoa_Parish.png

Where the New Orleans metro ends, the Baton Rouge metro starts, and now that there are so many people living on the edges of the metro areas, I could see this merge happening.

Many future population projections have New Orleans with a city population of 200k-250k, and 900,000-1,100,000 in the metro area.

Projections have Baton Rouge with a city population of 250k-350k, and a metro population of 800,000-1,000,000. So if the two metro's were to merge, the single metro area would most likely have a population of around 2,000,000.

Any thoughts on this?

Lets start marketing the area

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  • 4 weeks later...
  • 6 months later...

"New Orleans and Baton Rouge Metropolitan Areas to Merge?" http://www.urbanplanet.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=18710

^That thread was created a few weeks ago, there are some great answers and ideas in that thread if you want to check it out. :)

I doubt the areas will merge. In order to merge, 25% of the individuals in the BR metro area must commute to a central parish in the NOLA metro area. The central parishes in NOLA are Orleans and Jeff.

I think the big question is which metro area is going to pick up Tangipahoa Parish. True, there has been a great influx from New Orleans, but will 25% commute to BR or NO? Tangipahoa may stay in its own world.

Now, if St. Tammany were to be considered a central parish, it would be a no brainer. However I find it very difficult to consider St. Tammany a central parish because it simply does not meet US government criteria regarding density and because large stretches of St. Tammany remain rural. :-(

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i think people mean will they merge more in a physical sense. True finding that many people too commute between the aras core parishes is unlikely, but it still wont change the fact there are this many people in an area. i think the census bureau statistics are skewed in favor of matro areas that have a large commute area. I think at some point St Tammany will be considered a core parish.

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