Planning and Community Development

Research documenting the social and organizational benefits of collaborative planning has afforded collaborative planning an increasingly broader role in environmental policy and management. However, the bias toward evaluating the process and its social outcomes has resulted in a gap in knowledge of the impact collaborative environmental planning and management has on changing environmental conditions. This article attempts to reduce this gap by presenting a new performance evaluation framework that assesses collaborative environmental planning outputs and outcomes: both social and environmental. The case study of the Habitat Workgroup of the New York—New Jersey Harbor Estuary Program highlights the utility of this evaluation framework in assessing the quality of key outputs; the presence of outcomes (i.e., changes in social and environmental conditions); and observed relationships between process, outputs, and outcomes.

Social capital is an important primary outcome of collaborative planning and is deemed a precursor to arriving at successful collaborative planning outcomes such as more effective collective action and both individual and social benefits. Although commonly used definitions of social capital stress the importance of social networks, recent scholarly research tends to overlook the importance of understanding how collaborative efforts influence the formation of new relationships and the structures of these relations (social networks) and in turn how these influence success. This article documents the application of social network analysis methods in the evaluation of a collaboration's effectiveness at building social capital, the structures of these relations, the factors that influenced positively and negatively their formation, and finally, the influence of the social networks on realizing successful outcomes.

This paper evaluates alternative approaches to management of interstate water resources in the United States (U.S.), including interstate compacts, interstate associations, federal-state partnerships, and federal-interstate compacts. These governance structures provide alternatives to traditional federalism or U.S. Supreme Court litigation for addressing problems that transcend political boundaries and functional responsibilities. Interstate compacts can provide a forum for ongoing collaboration and are popular mechanisms for allocating water rights among the states. Federal-interstate compacts, such as the Delaware River Basin Compact and federal-state partnerships, such as the National Estuary Program, are also effective and complementary approaches to managing water resources. However, all of these approaches can only make modest improvements in managing water resources given the complicated and fragmented nature of our federalist system of government.

This paper describes an applied research project that used a sustainable land-use planning approach to examine flood hazard mitigation alternatives in a 536-acre developed office park complex. A watershed-wide assessment including floodplain remapping and modelling of low-impact and large stormwater improvements throughout the upper watershed revealed limited impact on reducing flooding downstream in the environs of the office park during large storms. Thus emphasis had to be given to recommending retroactive sustainable land-use development actions such as relocating buildings and roadways out of the 100-year floodplain, which involves creating a mixed-use overlay district on high elevations, and restoring the floodplain.

The aim of this study is to assess and document the influence of collaborative watershed partnership processes on realising outcomes: improvement in social conditions and implementation of restoration projects in the Philadelphia region. Methods include primary document review, a survey of partnership participants and quantitative analysis. This analysis identifies correlations between the quality of the collaborative process and changes in social conditions. In addition, although participants in the partnerships have implemented a range of watershed restoration projects, the influence of the process on implementation is ambiguous. The collaborative processes yield agreements, improve learning and build social capital; yet these alone may be insufficient to overcome barriers to implementation.

This paper articulates the complexities of adaptively managing Delaware River water resources to meet shifting priorities of drinking water supply, drought mitigation and flood mitigation, as well as conflicting stakeholder interests. In particular, the paper examines the short-term and long-term programs that comprise the Delaware River Basin Commission's (DRBC) and the 1954 US Supreme Court Decree parties' successful adaptive management approach that seeks to balance the growing list of demands for water resources management, including drinking water supply, drought management, flood control and cold water fisheries protection. Review of the DRBC's adaptive governance approach reveals the critical complexities of designing experimental, yet science-driven management approaches and effectively engaging various sets of stakeholders in the associated decision-making processes.

In this paper we examine the role of community-based organisations (CBOs) in the environmental policy regime of Philadelphia, through a citywide survey (N = 40) and interviews with leaders from three types of CBOs: community development corporations (CDCs), civic associations (CAs), and business-improvement organisations. We found that CBOs of all types have changed their organisational missions and identities in response to their pursuit of sustainability goals, but that CDCs more so than either CAs or business organisations have integrated sustainability into their governance structures. Second, we found that a growing number of CBOs have expanded their work to involve environmental policy and programming. Third, we found that the work of local non-profit organisations has become directly linked to the city's broader sustainability plan, Greenworks.

Recently planning organizations have initiated planning academies to increase citizens’ capacity to effectively engage in city and local planning activities.  Yet, the success of these programs is largely unknown.  This paper seeks to address this gap in knowledge by proposing an assessment framework to identify increased civic engagement capacity using three tiers of outcomes.  The results of a multi-case study suggest that this model of public outreach and education programming is successful at realizing improvements in individual human and social capital that translate into effective citizen engagement measured as actions taken by participants to improve community conditions.

Municipalities across the United States are prioritizing green stormwater infrastructure (GSI) projects due to their potential to concurrently optimize the social, economic, and environmental benefits of the “triple bottom line”. While placement of these features is often based on biophysical variables regarding the natural and built environments, highly urbanized areas often exhibit either limited data or minimal variability in these characteristics. Using a case study of Philadelphia and building on previous work to prioritize GSI features in disadvantaged communities, this study addresses the dual concerns of the inequitable benefits of distribution and suitable site placement of GSI using a model to evaluate and integrate social variables to support decision making regarding GSI implementation. Results of this study indicate locations both suitable and optimal for the implementation of four types of GSI features: tree trenches, pervious pavement, rain gardens, and green roofs. C...

This study seeks to understand the factors that influence the variability in distribution of public and private sector investments in green stormwater infrastructure (GSI) projects across the diversity of neighbourhoods in the City of Philadelphia, PA, U.S.A. using indicators of community context and capacity. For this study, context is defined as characteristics of disadvantaged communities and capacity as factors that facilitate individual and collective action. Community context and capacity are deemed integral to the success of the Philadelphia GSI programme as the Philadelphia Water Department is relying upon collaborative approaches to facilitate public investments in neighbourhoods and voluntary implementation of GSI practices on publically and privately owned lands. Private sector investments in GSI mandated by stormwater regulations for new construction and major rehabilitation also are assessed in relation to these two sets of indicators. The geographic information systems and statistical analyses reveal an inequitable distribution of GSI projects, which largely is driven by market forces. The paper concludes with a community capacity-based framework to prioritise public sector investment in disadvantaged communities to achieve more equitable distribution of GSI projects and associated benefits.

This chapter highlights the benefits and challenges of embedding an externally funded research project in a graduate planning studio course in the accredited City and Regional Planning program at Temple University. In December 2015, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) awarded the Center for Sustainable Communities (CSC), Temple University, a $200,000 Brownfields Area-Wide Plan (BAWP) grant. The community partner, New Kensington Community Development Corporation (NKCDC), coordinated access to other community organizations and residents, also was funded through the grant. Using photovoice, a participatory action research method, the studio team learned how to plan and manage engagement activities that focused on the residents as the source of knowledge and used participants' photographs to highlight lived experiences, promote dialogue, and uncover community desires. The community participants felt that the engagement process was a valuable experience and the photovoice activities, in particular, helped them realize how the neighborhood could change. Incorporating this level of community engagement in a studio project would not have been possible without grant funding to support the work of the research team including the community partner's participation and research assistants and to provide stipends for residents participating in this engagement process.

Public planning academies are a form of community leadership development programming utilized by cities to increase community engagement. This article presents a case study of the Citizens Planning Institute in Philadelphia, in the US state of Pennsylvania, and documents the program's outcomes using the Community Capitals Framework. The results highlight the capacities developed by participants and their community engagement post program. The findings contribute to understanding how public planning academies support emerging leaders with new knowledge and skills, and enhanced leadership traits (human capital) as well as social, political, and cultural capitals that enhance engagement.

This article highlights a four-year community engagement project to engage residents in remembering historic and iconic places, which served the community during its heyday, and envisioning future development. The project was realized over four years through a partnership between a capstone community development service-learning course and a community development corporation (CDC), located in North Philadelphia, PA. The CDC was challenged to engage residents in developing a community vision after decades of disinvestment. Engaging residents in storytelling through multiple forms such as historic narratives, memories, and conversations was seen as the root of the projects' success.

Planning the Oregon Way of Environmental Quality, started planning for a Willamette River Greenway, and presided over passage of bills to reassert public ownership of ocean beaches, to set minimum deposits for beverage cans and bottles, and to require removal of billboards. In this context of environmental awareness, the initial impulse for state land-use legislation came from the farms rather than the cities.' The center of concern was the hundred-mile-long Willamette Valley, where the Coast Range on one side and the high Cascades on the other reminded residents that land is finite. The first steps toward the idea of "exclusive farm use" between 1961 and 1967 involved legislative action to set the tax rate on farm land by land rental valuesin effect, by its productive capacity as farm landrather than by comparative sales data which might reflect the demand for suburban development. A conference on "The Willamette ValleyWhat Is our Future in Land Use?" held early in 1967 spread awareness of urban pressures on Oregon's agricultural base. With key members drawn from the ranks of Oregon farmers, the Legislative Interim Committee on Agriculture responded by developing the proposal that became Senate Bill 10, Oregon's first mandatory planning legislation. Adopted in 1969, SB 10 took the major step of requiring cities and counties to prepare comprehensive land-use plans and zoning ordinances that met ten broad goals. The deadline was December 31, 1971. How-cerely concerned with promoting economic development in Oregon should cheer this program rather than fight it."5 A task force headed by Umatilla County farmer Stafford Hansell heard testimony from more than four hundred Oregonians and reported essentially the same conclusions to Governor Vic Atiyeh. The election returns showed the same regional divisions as before, with strong opposition from ranching counties in the southeastern corner of the state and from lumbering counties in the southwestern corner. The 1982 referendum was the last comprehensive attack on the Oregon planning system. The rest of the decade brought institutional stability. A continuing economic slump triggered net outmigration that totaled 86,000 from 1980 to 1986. Stagnant population meant little demand for new housing and few pressures for land conversion, leaving the assumptions of most local plans unchallenged. Local planning activities xviii Planning the Oregon Way want. Oregon policy makers and planners are actively exploring ways to intervene in this trend and to effect greater densities. The transportation rule is an outgrowth of frustrations with the historical separation of land use and transportation planning. As SyAdler indicates, the hoped-for integration of land use and transportation should achieve more purposeful urban form and a land use pattern that provides a range of mobility alternatives. Similarly, a gradual convergence of land use planning and economic development policy is occurring. Especially in major urban areas, as John DeGrove points out, large economic interests acknowledge the value of a stable planning environment for long-term investment. Economic development is increasingly a central element in neighborhood and district planning in the state's dominant city of Portland. At the same time, the continued economic crisis of resource-dependent communities has created the problem of "two Oregons" divided by wealth, by economic prospects, and increasingly by world view. In 1960, for example, per capita income in affluent, suburban Washington County near Portland was 10 percent higher than the rest of the state. By the 1980s it was 25 percent higher. In the 1990s, problems of chronic unemployment and underemployment have been exacerbated by federal resource conservation policies. The Endangered Species Act and related policies have affected forest resources and fisheries. As both Matthew Slavin and Michael Hibbard point out, Oregon land use planning has been ineffective in responding to problems of rural economic decline. Avery specific issue resulting from the problems of the "other Oregon" has been the effort to define "secondary lands"the less productive lands within rural areas. In 1974, Oregon policy makers assumed that two competing land usesurbanization and resource productionneeded to be balanced in a statewide system. There has been widespread concern that the resource land regulations are overly restrictive since some designated resource lands cannot support viable commercial farming, ranching, or forestry. James Pease describes the long and contentious history that caused the 1993 legislature to permit homes on lots that were created and owned before 1985, except on the most productive farm and forest land. A larger issue is the question of the realistic future for Oregon's resource communities. In a study of Coos Bay, historian William Robbins (1988) has found an important discontinuity for the years from 1945 to 1975. In the midst of a normal pattern of booms and busts, these decades

Research has established that built environments, including street networks, bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure, and land uses, can positively affect the frequency and duration of daily physical activity. Attention is now being given to policy frameworks such as zoning codes that set the standards and expectations for this built environment. We examined the adoption and implementation of mixed-use and related zoning provisions with specific attention to the role that physical activity serves as a motivation for such policies and to what extent public health agencies influence the adoption process. A sample of planning directors from 53 communities with outstanding examples of mixed-use developments and 145 randomly selected midsized communities were surveyed. Physical activity is not a dominant motivator in master plans and/or zoning codes and public health agencies played minor roles in policy adoption. However, physical activity as a motivation appears to be increasing in recen...

The sprawling, automobile-dominated landscape so prevalent throughout the United States seriously limits the con- tinued mobility and independence of older people. This reality is of enor- mous consequence to the aging expe- rience. Family members, friends, and the social service system are faced with the challenge of helping seniors overcome the environmental obstacles created by existing development. In the years