Many planning-related challenges do not begin or end at a community’s boundary. Often, their causes stem from decisions made outside the community, their effects can flow “downstream” to other communities, and impacts may manifest across landscapes. These diffuse challenges can only be solved effectively when diverse stakeholders are willing to cross legal and social boundaries and work together. A regional approach to planning facilitates high levels of coordination that make it easier to identify a problem’s origins, account for all of its impacts, scale solutions for the right geography, and marshal resources to address challenges.
Regional planning often takes place in metropolitan areas with multiple, adjacent jurisdictions. Stakeholders come together to find workable solutions to issues such as managing growth and sprawl, developing effective transportation systems, and providing public services, such as EMS, fire, and waste management. This process can result in long-term partnerships, working agreements, and strategies to address social, economic, and environmental challenges. Unfavorable conditions or persistent problems can compel stakeholders to come to the table and work together. However, engaging in proactive regional planning and relationship building can set the stage for more efficient, effective problem solving when challenges arise.
In spite of their rural locations and geographic isolation, Gateway and Natural Amenity Region (GNAR) communities within the same region tend to be connected in many ways. It is common for amenities like national parks or heritage sites to span multiple jurisdictions. Entities within a rural region are likely to depend on the same water source, confront the same natural hazards, or share an arterial road or highway. Employment opportunities or housing costs in one area are likely to affect workers and businesses in another. For this reason, the actions of one entity are likely to impact the others around it. Moreover, neighboring entities might be working on the same issues and duplicating efforts. In other situations, entities might be unintentionally working toward contrary aims simply because they are not communicating. Inviting more entities to the problem-solving table will diversify the voices, more accurately identify the causes of the problem, increase available resources, increase coordination, and ultimately create solutions that are more comprehensive and more sustainable.
Forthcoming tools and resources to be found on this page:
- Case Studies on Regional Planning efforts
- Tools and Methods for Collaboration
- How big is this problem? Determining the right size for a regional collaborative
- Maintaining focus and momentum on a project during times of change and staff turnover
Is there something you’d like to see on this page? Have you been involved in a regional planning effort that was successful or could have been better? Contact and tell us today!