This section includes stories and case studies representing a wide range of geographic locations, community types, planning processes, tools, project scales, and outcomes.
The “three infrastructures” approach to municipal land-use planning helps towns think consciously about the interactions between their built, green, and social infrastructures so that they may identify the most appropriate places for development.
Using the "4-I" concept of Appreciative Inquiry, the city of Dubuque, Iowa formulated a plan for the expenditure of $20 million to address housing, community and economic development issues that plagued the town.
As part of the General Plan update process, the City Council of Beverly Hills created a Community Character Committee to consider how character might be protected and to hypothesize different scenarios for the future of the City.
Biddeford is poised between a hard past and a hopeful future. An old mill city of 22,000, Biddeford uses a unique brand of alchemy to turn old factories into new economies, old conflicts into new alliances, old identities into new visions for growth.
Citizens, elected officials and government employees came together for an Appreciative Inquiry process in a region devastated by wildfires and facing extreme population growth.
Conservationists and advocates in the borderlands area of RI and CT are stressing the need to “reinvent the village.” Find out how these towns are absorbing new growth while conserving and enhancing the natural amenities that make this region unique.
In 1996 the Michigan Land Information Access Association assisted seven Michigan communities in articulating their local character. Using Community Information Systems (CIS) plans were created to sustain and enhance these respective community values.
Created in 1999, Burlington's Legacy Project outlines a comprehensive plan to guide change for the economic, environmental and social health of Burlington so it can sustain its community character that residents cherish.
Chicago's Common Ground process sought to develop a comprehensive regional vision that was rooted in local perspectives. Through community workshops and forums, Chicago's 2040 Regional Framework Plan was created and adopted.
Dakota Dreams organizers recognized the poverty and economic depression in northwestern North Dakota and created a comprehensive plan for change. Appreciative Inquiry was used to outline strategies for increasing opportunities within the community.
When Damariscotta residents came face-to-face with a community-changing development proposal, they pulled together to begin drafting proactive alternatives for how to adapt to growth without losing local character and traditions.
As Durango’s population continues to grow, residents try to preserve their city’s heart and soul. The comprehensive plan update process was a critical opportunity to secure a long-term quality of life for the community.