Williamson County and Franklin Visited by Smart Growth America

Franklin Mayor, Ken Moore and Executive Director of the Heritage Foundation of Franklin and Williamson County, Mary Pearce recently greeted a network of quality growth experts from across the country to learn about successful quality growth models and best practices in Williamson County and across the Middle Tennessee region. Participants from San Francisco to Boston learned about Franklin and Williamson County’s successful downtown revitalization and conservation efforts.

The group was hosted by Cumberland Region Tomorrow, a regional quality growth collaborative made up of private and public sector members.

“Franklin and Williamson County are models not only for the state but for the country, in terms of conserving small town charm and rural feel, while achieving economic success,” said CRT Executive Director, Bridget Jones.

Rachel DiResto, Executive Vice President for the Center for Planning Excellence in Baton Rouge, Louisiana explained, “The more we can learn from each other the better all of our organizations can be.”

The group had the opportunity to learn about best practices going on across the state in regards to recognizing and enhancing the cultural and economic incentives for conserving Middle Tennessee’s best open spaces and rural communities. Tennessee Commissioner for the Department of Tourism Development and Franklin resident, Susan Whitaker, explained that Tennessee’s natural places and open spaces are huge economic engines and protecting the state’s natural beauty is not only vital to the state’s economic health but also immensely important to the identity of Tennessean. Whitaker used the recently launched Tennessee Trails program, which goes through Williamson County as an example.

The group also visited some of Middle Tennessee’s best examples of urban, suburban, and rural place-making. Participants learned about Nashville’s downtown renaissance and the growing demand for more downtown living. Over lunch catered by Meeridees Pearce, spoke about Franklin’s award-winning model of combining conservation and commercial success in its historic downtown and Tennessee Commissioner of Agriculture, Julius Johnson spoke to participants at Country Boy in Leiper’s Fork over coffee and pie about the importance of not only conserving farms and farmland but helping rural communities such as Leiper’s Fork thrive.

The group spent a total of three days in Nashville as part of their conference where a model region is selected every year by the Smart Growth America network. Smart Growth America is a national smart growth advocacy organization that works with communities across the country to implement smart growth planning and development.
Mary Pearce leads a walking tour for the group while explaining the success of the revitalized Franklin Theatre.

Read the Press Release Published in: The Tennessean, Nov 30, 2011
“‘Smart growth’ advocates study Williamson’s efforts”