St. Bernard Parish (Louisiana) has undergone a transition from rural, agrarian characteristics to that of a suburban, industrial based community. Its fragile environment has been substantially altered by man's use. Planning and development strategies need to be devised to address the stress placed on the environment by these alterations, particularly dealing with coastal erosion, land loss and increased threat of tidal surge and flooding if development in the area is to continue. St. Bernard also faces a changing economy with the declines of its industrial based economy and employment base which requires that new forms of economic development are established to replace jobs those that have been lost. This thesis addresses these issues and proposes actions that could be taken to learn from the errors of the past to attempt to mitigate losses that have occurred by emphasizing planning and arranging priorities to create an agenda for the future which provides economic development and controlled growth within the bounds of Saint Bernard Parish's environmental capacity.