Volume 39 Collaborations in Planning (2014)

Editors: Bill King and Cara Wittekind

CPJ 2014 cover


 

One of the great strengths of communities is their diversity. This can include diversity of thought, class, race, lifestyle, and opinion. As planners, though, we are often challenged to reconcile the many different thoughts and circumstances within our communities to try and reach some solution that improves the places we care about. As such, we must be adept at collaboration, in order to find the best ideas that address the needs and interests of a diverse array of people.

Furthermore, planners are faced with the growing pressure of needing to do more with less. The recent recession left many communities with less tax revenue and fewer resources to work with. Additionally, the recession put even more pressure on communities to revitalize their economies and repair the economic damage done to help put residents back to work. Given these circumstances, planners must rely more and more on collaborations to help meet these demands and leverage as many resources as possible.

Planning also is increasingly a profession that requires breaking down silos and collaborating across disciplines. For example, the connection between public health, transportation, and land use is more and more apparent in programs like Complete Streets or efforts to address food deserts. Communities across the country are attempting to stimulate economic development through transportation investments like light rail and streetcars or even better urban design. Growing interest in energy efficiency and new technologies are also changing the face of planning and opening new frontiers for planners.

This year’s Carolina Planning attempts to provide examples of collaborations that may be of use to planners everywhere. The issue includes articles on initiatives that sit at the intersection of different disciplines, as well as many examples of diverse and unique partnerships that are attempting to address some of the biggest challenges in planning. Our hope is that planners and anyone interested in the future of their own communities finds value in this year’s issue and Carolina Planning continues to further thought and dialogue in the field of planning.

A digital version of this edition is available here.

40TH ANNIVERSARY RETROSPECTIVE
Grden, Nancy; Weeden, Kenneth
In celebration of Carolina Planning‘s 40th year as the oldest student-led planning publication in the country, two of our alumi offer their perspectives on how planning has evolved in the 40 years since this journal began.
THE SHARED BENEFITS OF CAPITAL BIKESHARE
Hamre, Andrea; Buehler, Ralph
An exploration of the connection between transportation and economic development with  analysis of a user survey of Washington’s Capital Bikeshare to identify economic development impacts of the bikeshare system.
BUILDING THE CAPACITY OF COASTAL COMMUNITIES TO ADAPT TO CLIMATE CHANGE
Rumore, Danya
A case study of a large collaboration between communities, government agencies and academics in New England to address the coastal impacts of climate change.
THE MEGAREGION AS PRODUCT AND SPUR OF COLLABORATION
Doyle, Jessica
This piece examines the concept of the multi-MSA, multi-state megaregion, which calls for collaborative planning on a major scale, and discusses some of the benefits and challenges for this type of planning.
CLINCH RIVER VALLEY INITIATIVE
Gyovai, Christine; Dukes, Frank; Ness, Abigail; Lyons, Lucas; Spain, Allison
A “deep dive” case study which details regional efforts to foster collaboration among communities in mountainous western Virginia and identify some of the major lessons learned.
GROWNC: TOGETHER WE CREATE OUR FUTURE
Chipley, Sealy; Giltz, Linda; Turner, Carrie
A companion piece to Clinch River, this “deep dive” case study reports on the GroWNC regional long-range planning initiative in western North Carolina and provide valuable insights into this collaboration.
LOCAL AND REGIONAL NORTH CAROLINA COLLABORATIONS
CASE STUDIES FROM APA-NC CONTRIBUTORS
Guffey, Stacy J; Brown, Ben; Rhea, Carol; Rhodes, Darren; Stoogenke, Dana; Ryan, Deborah; Ledbetter, Dean; Blackburn, Lauren
Carolina Planning regularly publishes a feature highlighting projects from members of the North Carolina Chapter of the American Planning Association (NCAPA). This year’s submissions focus on community planning initiatives that utilize a wide range of collaborations, ranging from updated citizen engagement techniques, partnering with the NC Department of Transportation to slow traffic and create a pedestrian street environment, and a variety of intergovernmental collaborations.
2013 BEST DCRP MASTER’S PAPER: PREDICTING EFFECTS OF URBAN DESIGN ON PUBLIC HEALTH: A CASE STUDY OF RALEIGH, NC
Dennerlein, Taylor
BOOK REVIEWS
STUDENT CONNECTION
FINAL THOUGHTS
Spurlock, Danielle