Exploring Models of Regional Sustainability Planning and Implementation

Project summary:

This research project examines approaches to planning for and implementing sustainability at a regional scale. Four to seven detailed case studies of sustainability planning at a regional scale will be developed. For the purposes of this study, regions might be defined at multiple scales including, but not limited to, metropolitan governance organizations, multi-county rural development organizations, multi-jurisdictional transportation corridors, metropolitan planning organizations, and other formal and informal regional collaboratives. These case studies examine the content of sustainability planning efforts, the process used to develop the plan, and the approaches applied in implementing the plan. In terms of the content of regional sustainability plans, this project draws on previous research on evaluating community sustainability planning efforts to develop a rigorous methodology for assessing the nature and approach to addressing sustainability. The case study findings are presented individually and also aggregated to inform a framework for regional sustainability planning and implementation that represents a set of best practices that might be applied by organizations and stakeholders interested in pursuing such planning in their own region. The framework will be applied and tested in the context of the Twin Cities metropolitan area, resulting in a possible approach to regional sustainability planning for use locally. Outreach to relevant stakeholders through an advisory committee and additional efforts will be pursued.