Recommendations for Future Action

A Report to the Region, pg 20-21 – View the “Report to the Region”, PDF

Cumberland Region Tomorrow’s activities have resulted in a great deal of individual
and regional thinking. It is clear that we are linked together in our future as a single region. In addition, most people involved in the process have rejected the Base Case scenario as an acceptable future. With ongoing research and public input, we will continue to validate regional values, confirm our guiding tenets, and advocate for smart growth and development that are in keeping with preferred patterns.

CRT will continue its work to find answers to complex questions about the region’s future. We foresee the following as ways to further advance the region toward consensus and desired growth and development outcomes:

• Continue the Discussion
• Build Consensus
• Provide Resources and Tools
• Recognize and Support Early and Successful Projects

Continue the Discussion

The initial phase of CRT’s work was discovery and research. Now that options are clearer, debate and refinement should continue. More people need to weigh in on the issues raised by the Base Case scenario and consider alternative growth and development scenarios that the region could embrace.

The Alternative Case scenario results show that participants are eager for development that is drastically different from most current types and patterns. New development methods, however, are not currently permitted under existing regulatory systems in most instances. In fact, some regulations actually encourage the sprawling patterns evident in the Base Case Scenario. Leadership and support for changes in local codes and state and regional investment patterns will enable more desirable development patterns to be realized. These changes will not be easy as they reverse policies, regulatory systems and mindsets that have developed over many years. These changes certainly can be accomplished however as different parts of the country have successfully completed similar processes.

Changes in policy and systems in the Cumberland Region will more easily occur as large numbers of people are informed of different growth possibilities, become interested in alternative types of development and request that they are made possible. CRT commits to be a positive catalyst in effecting this change. Through increased awareness, discussion, and partnerships with other interested groups and stakeholders throughout the region, we are confident that new and desirable types of growth and development can occur.

Build Consensus

While the region has not yet achieved consensus about what to do, most believe that we can do better. Many ideas have been recorded and when the future is modeled with these ideas it looks quite a bit better to most of us. The questions we must answer now are “what are the options we should pursue and is it feasible to build a regional consensus for action?”

Provide Resources and Tools

Selecting key ideas for the region while developing a consensus customized to Tennessee and the Cumberland Region will make implementation much more feasible. This could range from city-county cooperative compacts and frameworks to local code updates and new standards for green arterials and local road development.

CRT will work to develop resources and tools for communities within the region that are ready and willing to implement these ideas and strategies. Similar regions across the country have seen smart growth and development ideas advanced by workshops addressing topics such as updated ordinances and programs, strategies for community revitalization and/or new residential development practices. Others have advanced their work through “toolbox” resources, shared technical assistance, and leveraging their work through collaboration with partner agencies.

Recognize and Support Early and Successful Projects

One of the best ways to advance an idea is to turn it into reality. People can experience the idea as a physical reality rather than a concept and decide whether it would be good for their community. Ideas such as conservation developments in rural areas, new villages instead of isolated subdivisions, redevelopment of downtowns and city centers and green arterials have all been widely built in the United States, but few examples exist in the Cumberland Region. Encouraging their development will provide a much better way for the region’s communities to experience the difference and see how these ideas can work here.

The Cumberland Region has choices. To make wise choices, we must work together toward regional consensus that accommodates growth without sacrificing prosperity, quality of life, natural resources, or the livability of our communities.