Planning Professionals
Planning consultants have the ability to vastly change the direction of a municipality's zoning and land-use regulations. Moreover, they are instrumental in helping communities develop resiliency planning documents alongside landscape architectural designers and engineers. Sustainable communities begin with a sensible and well thought Comprehensive Plan and Zoning Code. Design standards are another important tool that can ensure cohesiveness and community brand. Sprawl development in suburban "bedroom" communities is generally the result of outdated post-war zoning and planning documents that encouraged segregated land-uses. The natural transitional land-use patterns seen in many older Cities, Towns and Villages came about before the modern zoning codes, and were driven by the means of production, originally at the center of town. Later, as industry moved out, so too did the residential populations, attracted to the concept of owning a piece of the pie. And with that grew the suburbs of today, which continue to expand. There has of late been a small reversal of this trend, with younger start-ups moving back to revitalized city centers. Meanwhile, many municipalities have revisited their codes, seeking to re-center and re-brand their town center. Planning professionals are instrumental in helping this re-balancing process continue.