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All too often, the national narrative portrays Louisiana as a backwater state. But we here at Strong Towns see things very differently. For example, we think Shreveport, Louisiana doesn\u2019t get the credit it deserves for changing the local conversation around what will make the city stronger. We\u2019ll go even further and say that Shreveport has one of the leading downtowns in the country\u2014though too few people (including too few Shreveporters) are aware of it.\nOn this week\u2019s edition of the Strong Towns podcast, we explore why we\u2019re so excited about what\u2019s unfolding in Shreveport. In this episode, Strong Towns president Charles Marohn interviews Liz Swaine, the Executive Director of the Shreveport Downtown Development Authority. Marohn and Swaine discuss the incredible renaissance of Shreveport\u2019s downtown and why it\u2019s important that this renaissance has unfolded incrementally. They talk about \u201cdemolition by neglect\u201d and a better use for incentive money. And they discuss the proposed Cross Bayou Point plan, an expensive (and decidedly un-incremental) approach to redevelopment\u2014what it is, why it will make Shreveport weaker, and why the campaign to approve it has been genuinely offensive.\nIn this episode, downtown advocates everywhere will learn how to better work with local officials to spur positive change in their own communities, how to make progress without burning bridges, and how to accept the inevitable defeats.\nHighlights:\n\u201cIt\u2019s really important not to take things personally. You do your best, you fight your hardest, and then you shake hands and live to fight another day. It\u2019s important for you to let those elected officials that you\u2019re either with or against know that you\u2019re with them or against them on this, but on the next issue you may be reversed.\u201d\n\u201cWe had a situation here several years ago. There was a city councilperson and they were debating a project in a nice council district that\u2019s a lovely place and people like to live there and shop there. There was a business that wanted to come in that was completely incorrect for that area, and the statement was actually made, \u2018We can\u2019t do any better than this.\u2019 That made me angry because we can always do better. We can always do better. The minute we start thinking that we can\u2019t do any better than this, that\u2019s our future.\u201d\nShow Notes:\n\nShreveport Downtown Development Authority\n\n\nLiz Swaine\u2019s column on Cross Bayou Point (Shreveport Times)\n\n\nA roundup of some of our previous article on Shreveport