Regional Planning Summit Report 2003

“A Summary of the Insights, Suggestions for Next Steps”

This document is not simply a summary of what took place at CRT’s Regional Planning Summit on October 29, 2003. This document is a record of the big-picture ideas that were shared, explored, honored and ultimately will be improved upon. The ideas came from the hearts and minds of intelligent, committed private and public-sector individuals looking to the future of the region, looking with a broad perspective in consideration of preserving the uniqueness of land we share.

To highlight the most meaningful insights of the day, we have chosen to begin with the day’s last event, the panel discussion that encouraged the Summit participants to rank and evaluate their concerns about regional growth issues. The Summit speakers represented successful regional growth efforts across the nation and knowledgeable Tennesseans who have expertise in our own regional growth considerations.The Summit participants included the region’s mayors, council members, government planners and officials, private business owners, foundations’ personnel, and members of academia.

After a day of listening to growth projections and suggested ways of dealing with such growth implications, the participants were ready to ask questions.

The discussion process was facilitated with the use of electronic polling. Using handheld remote controls, participants identified the regional growth issues they personally found most pressing. What was striking was the group’s consensus on several major growth issues. With consensus established, knowledgeable panel members addressed the implications of each priority issue.

What follows is a summary of the voting results and panel insights on the challenges inherent with each of the four identified issues:

1. Preserving distinct communities and their unique heritage.
2. Preserving greenspace and farmland.
3. Addressing overall development with changes in zoning or other land use regulations.
4. Improving current local and/or regional use planning. Suggestions were plentiful as participants listened.

View the Full Regional Planning Summit Report 2003, PDF

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