We help regions and the communities within them improve their social well-being, economic growth, and environmental sustainability from the neighborhood to the community to the metropolitan region. Regional planning has evolved over the last six decades through a variety of initiatives, planning efforts, and other broad-based movements. Major forces, such as the emergence of single-function State infrastructure planning agencies and heightened awareness of growth impacts on the environment, helped raise serious concerns regarding growth-related challenges such as air quality, regional economic health, overcrowded schools, affordable housing, urbanization of prime agricultural land, and water shortages.
Unlike individual city and county planning projects and programs, regional planning deals with challenges and opportunities facing multiple communities and stakeholders. Often neighboring communities share common characteristics and values and rely on the same resources for their success. However, they may also have conflicting and competing interests. Regional planning is based on the principle that, by working together, local communities can address regionwide environmental, social, and economic issues which may otherwise be left unattended or result in negative consequences. At the heart of this principle is the idea that through consensus building, trust, and an understanding of common goals, local communities, and the regions in which they are located can become stronger, more sustainable, and vibrant.
We work with communities, local officials, regional agencies, and other stakeholders to develop long- and short-term plans, strategies, programs, and tools that promote the sustainability and best use of a region’s lands, resources, and people.