Share Knowledge,

Create Synergy

Build Spaces,

Shift Worlds.

At Palesa, we believe shared spaces build economic growth. We create environments where self-discovery meets collaboration, bringing together industry, academia, government, nonprofits, and communities to tackle challenges, drive innovation, and fuel economic opportunity.

Our Goal:

Leverage Collaboration.

Child poverty gap by race:

In Orleans Parish, 43% of Black children live in poverty, compared to just 4% of White children.

  • Affordable housing gap: New Orleans needs roughly 44,000 more affordable rental units, only 239 new units were added in 2024.

Poverty & Housing Challenges

  • High poverty in Metro New Orleans: The poverty rate is 20%, markedly higher than the national average of 12%.

  • Persistent poverty disparities: In New Orleans, poverty decreased from 28% in 1999 to 23% in 2023, yet rates remain elevated, especially among children and minority residents.

Health & Structural Deprivation

  • Health disparities: Louisiana ranks 49th in health nationwide. New Orleans performs even worse, especially in premature deaths, low birthweights, and childhood poverty metrics.

  • Substandard housing risks: Few housing options contributes to respiratory illnesses, mental health issues, and chronic disease—particularly in low-income, climate-vulnerable areas.

How Open is New Orleans for Business?

New Orleans is primed for growth, with small businesses driving much of the city’s economy. From cultural industries and tourism to construction, healthcare, and emerging technology, the region offers fertile ground for entrepreneurs.

With its rich talent pool, expanding infrastructure, and strong community networks, New Orleans is positioned to turn innovation and local enterprise into long-term economic development. Palesa serves as a bridge between funding sources, legislative bodies, the corporate power structure, and community members and small business owners during this economic transition.

A Visual Conversation on Place, Housing, and Opportunity

This video is intentionally pictorial, inviting viewers to reflect on the contrasts between neighboring parishes and the stories they tell about perception bias, equity and growth.

In Jefferson Parish, suburban neighborhoods showcase abundant art and placemaking efforts—features that are less visible in New Orleans’ own suburbs, despite the city’s international reputation for culture. Jefferson also demonstrates greater diversity in housing types, where apartment renters live side by side with upper-income homeowners, a dynamic often resisted in New Orleans’ single-family subdivisions.

Perhaps most striking, Jefferson’s subdivisions report lower median household incomes than it’s Orleans suburban counterpart, yet Jefferson enjoys stronger neighborhood wellness, greater economic activity, and more accessibility to job opportunity.

The video asks us to consider: What if New Orleans embraced these same principles of placemaking, housing diversity, and shared opportunity in its communities

Awareness of Zoning impact on Workforce Housing Disparity

Georgetown Law professor Sheryll Cashin outlines 3 anti–African American neighborhood processes — including “Boundary Maintenance” — and exposes how municipal systems disproportionately impact struggling suburbs.
Book: White Space, Black Hood: Opportunity Hoarding and Segregation in the Age of Inequality.

Many of New Orleans’ culture bearers reside in New Orleans East, a suburb. Almost all work outside of New Orleans East, contributing millions annually to the city’s cultural economy in a myriad of forms with relatively zero community building impact on the suburbs where they live. Over investment and exclusion in affluent, white, majority space with disinvestment elsewhere, particularly in majority African American spaces hoards opportunity through systems: Exclusionary Zoning & Boundaries of Jurisdictions. These are polite words for segregation. 

There are many professionals in the fields of Workforce, Culture, Real Estate, Law/Social Justice, and Urban Infrastructure that share their knowledge with communities. We connect notable practitioners with Community Activists, Business and Cultural Events, Policy and Civic Practitioners using public events, media, and varied platforms to raise awareness that builds collective knowledge on local, statewide, national, and global Community Perspectives & New Methods for improving Cultural Placemaking, Economic Development, Workforce Development, and Housing.

Georgetown Law professor Sheryll Cashin outlines 3 anti–African American neighborhood processes

Houston is the only major U.S. city without zoning—

A model of a free-er market focused on broader growth rather than controlling individual private parcels.

In Comparison… How has New Orleans East’s zoning policies shaped a welcoming business climate?

NOLA: Land of Opportunity.

What Makes New Orleans A Great Place To Build?

  • Because it sits at the crossroads of culture and commerce, where creativity, diversity, and resilience fuel innovation and economic growth.

  • The city’s expanding infrastructure, affordable land, and strategic location near the Gulf make it a prime environment for long-term investment.

  • A strong network of universities, cultural institutions, and skilled tradespeople ensures a pipeline of local talent across industries.

  • New Orleans’ deep cultural identity and strong neighborhoods create the foundation for projects that are both profitable and meaningful.

Culture, Public Art, and

Placemaking.

Palesa Keeps Professionals, Artists and Culturalists Front and Center.

Art is in every single thing we see.

Design, culture, and human connection are not accidental—they are the natural outcomes of strong communities. When cities invest in people, creative expression, and shared identity, cities generate more than beauty (ART); they create value.

Murals, public spaces, festivals, and cultural traditions attract and retain people to choose Louisiana. Visitors strengthen local confidence and drive small business development. Design and culture fuel innovation in every industry. Connection builds collaboration and when needed, resilient systems. Together, Science, Tech, Engineering, Arts, and Math forge economic growth, proving that innovation in creativity supported by culture (quality ways of life) are as vital to prosperity as infrastructure and industry.

Proposed

Lake Forest Cultural District

Cultural districts are vital tools in community development. Districts support existing cultural anchors and vendors. Districts celebrate local identity through the promotion of arts and culture.

Proposed Lake Forest Blvd.

Utility Box Public Art Installations as Placemaking

Events

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Workshops

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Charrettes

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Community Meetings

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Business Resources

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...and Spaces that Move You.

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Events >> Workshops >> Charrettes >> Community Meetings >> Business Resources >> ...and Spaces that Move You. >>

  • Real Estate Development Ecosystem Seminars

  • Community Online Discussions and Surveys

  • Community Development Collaboration Events

  • Cultural and Economic Development Districts

  • Press Coverage, Public Relations, and Community Engagement

Let’s work together

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