The Northwest Louisiana Council of Governments (NLCOG) is an intergovernmental association of the local governments for the Metropolitan Planning Area of Bossier, Caddo, DeSoto, and Webster Parishes established to assist in planning for common needs, cooperating for the mutual benefit, and coordinating for sound regional development. The vision of NLCOG is to conduct regional planning, facilitate coordination and cooperation, serve as a source of information and expertise on issues affecting northwest Louisiana, and assist member agencies in accessing funding to accomplish local and regional goals.

As the Regional Planning Council, our purpose is to strengthen both the individual and collective power of local governments and to help them recognize regional opportunities, eliminate unnecessary duplication, and make joint decisions for the benefit of the community. This is achieved by developing and implementing constructive and workable policies and programs for solving area-wide problems. These issues include transportation, economic development, health, safety, welfare, education, quality of life, and regional development issues.

NLCOG also functions as our region's Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) as recognized by the state of Louisiana, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), and the Federal Transit Administration (FTA). MPOs are required by federal law in areas with a population of 50,000 or more.

Transportation Planning

NLCOG's function as an MPO is to work with local governments, the state department of transportation, and local transit providers to determine transportation needs and funding priorities for federal transportation investments. NLCOG also provides general planning, mapping, and technical assistance to local governments.

Environmental Planning

NLCOG's commitment to improving and protecting the environmental quality of the region for all communities is found within several programs aimed at identifying, eliminating, and mitigating environmental contaminants across the region. The programs undertaken by NLCOG include Brownfields, Louisiana Watershed Initiative, and Climate Initiatives Task Force

Geographic Information Systems

As a program of the Northwest Louisiana Council of Governments, the Geographic Information System (GIS) integrates hardware, software, and data for capturing, managing, analyzing, and displaying all forms of geographically referenced information across the region. To achieve this, the GIS team develops GIS layers with member agencies and provides maps and connections for each member agency, as well as for the public via data requests.

Cartography and other mapping processes had their foundation in geography, whereas a GIS system enables computer automated processes to connect the dots in meaningful and impactful ways. The use of GIS allows for visualization of data, ease of access via layers, better decision-making, improved communication, and planning for communities.