225BatonRouge.com

A city challenged

Turns out 2005 was grow-up or shut-up time for Baton Rouge.

Hundreds of thousands of newcomers sought refuge here after Kat-Rita, bringing out the best and worst in the community. Baton Rouge dodged two historic hurricanes, but the city has been challenged.

In a way, the city has been given a gift, a rare chance to evolve into a more cosmopolitan place. Will it become a place that absorbs new ideas, or just get better at bouncing them out?

For much of its history Baton Rouge has been a place where "big city" meant something bad. Now, in more ways than anyone was prepared for, Baton Rouge has become a big city.

It has required us to adapt in order to maintain our quality of life.

We have to be more patient on the roads, we have to accept strangers in our spaces, and most important, consider new points of view.

New Orleans has no choice but rebuild and re-invent itself. In a way, Baton Rouge has the luxury of doing the same. Let's not blow the chance.