Southwest Louisiana Explained

Southwest Louisiana (SWLA) is a five-parish area intersecting the Acadiana and Central Louisiana regions in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is composed of the following parishes (counties): Allen, Beauregard, Calcasieu, Cameron, and Jefferson Davis.^{[1] [2]} As of 2020, the combined population of the five parish area was 313,951.^[3]

Southwest Louisiana has one metropolitan area: Lake Charles. The southwestern portion of Louisiana is also geographically and culturally attached to Southeast Texas.

Three of the parishes — Calcasieu, Cameron, and Jefferson Davis — are also part of Acadiana, the region of French and Acadian influence defined by the Louisiana State Legislature in 1971.^[4]

Broader definition

"Southwest Louisiana" is often used to represent a broader region that includes parishes farther east.

The most prominent example is the college now known as the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. Until 1998, UL was known as the University of Southwestern Louisiana, the Southwestern Louisiana Institute, and the Southwestern Louisiana Industrial Institute — despite being located in Lafayette, a city roughly 40 miles east of the five-parish area defined here.^[5] Its athletic teams were often referred to simply as "Southwestern."^[6]

The Southwest Louisiana Zydeco Festival, the Greater Southwest Louisiana Mardi Gras Association, and the Greater Southwest Louisiana Black Chamber of Commerce are all based in Lafayette or the surrounding area, not near Lake Charles.^{[7] [8] [9]}

See also

• Intrastate regions

External links

• Clickable map of Louisiana regions at the Louisiana Board of Regents, a state agency created by the 1974 Louisiana Constitution
• Southwest Louisiana Convention & Visitors Bureau

Notes and References

1. Web site: Chamber / Southwest Louisiana. chamberswla.org. 19 April 2018. dead. 7 June 2004. https://web.archive.org/web/20040607102957/http://www.chamberswla.org/region/areacommunities.cfm.
2. Web site: Long Term Care - Medicaid (Health Services Financing) - Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals. www.dhh.louisiana.gov. 19 April 2018. dead. 2010-12-17. https://web.archive.org/web/20101217043033/http://www.dhh.louisiana.gov/offices/page.asp?ID=152&Detail=4277.
3. News: Swift . George . Census data key to redistricting . 18 August 2021 . American Press . The American Press . August 17, 2021.
4. Shane K. Bernard, The Cajuns: Americanization of a People (Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 2003), p. 80.
5. Web site: University History . louisiana.edu . 13 May 2023 . en.
6. Web site: What is the Name? . Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns . 13 May 2023 . en.
7. Web site: Southwest Louisiana Zydeco Music Festival . Southwest Louisiana Zydeco Music Festival . 13 May 2023.
8. Web site: Greater Southwest Louisiana Mardi Gras Association . gomardigras.com . 13 May 2023.
9. Web site: Contact – GSLBCC . Greater Southwest Louisiana Black Chamber of Commerce . 13 May 2023.