From A to Z :
Planning for a 21st Century Region
In the 21st century, quality of life will determine our economic
success. Thusly, the kind of
region that we become is very important. How will we respond to the challenges
we face?
Here are 26 possibilities:
A is for
Art and Architecture
– that is designed, not to shock, but to heal and inspire, and as such will make
us renowned;
B
is for Boulevards
– that we create the most handsome streetscapes this side of
Paris (France);
C is for
Choices
– that we ensure we are planning for a broad range of ages,
lifestyles and interests, not just middle-aged, middle class people;
D is for
Downtowns –
which must be dense and diverse, safe and beautiful;
E is for
Environment
– a national treasure that we must continually protect;
F is for
Farms – and
the farmers who keep our region green, that we support the value they create for
our region;
G is for
Garden
– that, through wonderful landscape architecture, our cities and towns could
become the greenest in the world;
H is for
Heritage – that the best of our past
becomes our foundation for the future;
I is for
International
– that we make social and economic connections to the larger world;
J is for
Jammin’
– the regional music scene that we must nurture and grow;
K is
for Kentucky
– an entire state that will
learn from our efforts;
Nifty Fifty
Following tips in these areas will ensure that your community’s quality of life continues to improve. For more details, call Bluegrass Tomorrow.
Use Bluegrass Tomorrow’s Resources
1. Get and read a copy of Bluegrass Choices, Bluegrass Tomorrow’s innovative handbook of community planning.
2. Get and read a copy of Bluegrass Tomorrow’s road planning manual.
3. Invite Bluegrass Tomorrow to make a presentation in your community.
4. Suggest your local planning commission receive its required training from Bluegrass Tomorrow.
5. Organize a planning tour of your town’s best and worst features, utilizing Bluegrass Tomorrow’s staff.
Create Walkable Communities
6. Encourage compact, mixed-use developments that allow for more land uses within a smaller area and thus encourage walking.
7. Use innovative planning tools to encourage mixed uses.
8. Provide examples of mixed-use development at scales that are appropriate to your community.
9. Use public meetings about development options to educate community members on compact, mixed-use development options.
10. Encourage developers to reduce off-street surface parking.
11. Support regional planning efforts to encourage compact, mixed-use developments.
12. Encourage building design that makes commercial areas more walkable.
13. Adopt design standards for streets that ensure safety and mobility for pedestrian and non-motorized modes of transportation.
14. Require traffic-calming techniques where traffic speed through residential and urban areas is excessive.
15. Beautify and maintain existing and future walkways.
16. Connect walkways, parking lots, greenways, and developments.
17. Require sidewalks in all new developments.
Foster an Attractive Community with a Strong Sense of Place
18. Encourage your community to adopt smart growth codes to parallel conventional development regulations.
19. Encourage these new smart codes to allow for traditional development patterns.
20. Employ a design review board to ensure that new development reflects desirable design standards.
21. Ensure that development codes allow for a wide range of housing options.
22. Plant trees throughout your community and preserve existing trees throughout construction.
23. Preserve scenic vistas through appropriate location of telecommunication towers and billboards.
24. Enact clear design guidelines so that streets, buildings and public spaces work together to create a sense of place.
25. Locate civic buildings in existing downtown areas rather than on the edges of town.
26. Create a development authority with the ability to stimulate downtown development projects.
27. Adopt smart building codes to encourage the reuse of older buildings.
28. Constantly remind community leaders that “architecture matters.
Preserve Open Space, Farmland, Natural Beauty, and Sensitive Environmental Areas
29. Use TDR, PDR, and other market mechanisms to conserve private lands.
30. Create a network of trails and greenways.
31. Design and implement planning tools that preserve open space.
32. Conduct an infill study to locate and evaluate sites for redevelopment.
33. Encourage the adoption of land use policies that allow rural landowners alternative development choices such as bed and
breakfasts and offices – not simply residential developments.
34. Encourage sensitive and buffered cluster development as an alternative to large lot zoning.
Encourage Community and Stakeholder Collaboration in Development Decisions
35. Conduct a smart growth audit that reviews the planning decision-making processes in your community.
36. Seek technical assistance to develop a public participation process.
37. Use unconventional methods and forms to educate the community about the development and decision-making process.
38. Conduct community visioning exercises to determine how and where the community should grow.
39. Bring developers and the community into the visioning and decision-making process.
40. Hold a design charette to resolve problematic development decisions.
41. Encourage children to become interested in planning through education and outreach.
42. Encourage your community’s leaders to work with others across the region on the issues that affect us all like water supply, roads, agriculture and environment.
Make Development Decisions Predictable and Cost Effective
43. Display zoning regulations and design goals in graphic fashion to better illustrate planning goals.
44. Implement a process to expedite plan and permit approvals for smart growth projects.
45. Use a point based evaluation system to encourage smart growth projects.
46. Organize community groups to speak in support of smart growth projects.
47. Encourage the adoption of traditional development regulations that are flexible and cost efficient.
48. Support regional organizations that promote smart growth.
Finally
49. Stay involved with your community: don’t give in to cynicism.
50. Be fanatically positive that you yourself can help your community grow.
|
Home
and greater @ 800x600
.