A New Model for Comprehensive Planning

Jim Pashek , Paul Gilbert, and other members at Pashek Associates have been developing, with representatives from the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED), a new model for community comprehensive planning.

The goal is to truly focus on the key issues of a community or region and to craft a clear, step by step response to those needs.  An important component of this model is identifying the community’s capacity to implement the strategies.  Gone are the spreadsheets with hundreds of recommendations, replaced with realistic strategies that can be done in response to issues the community really cares about.

Jim and Paul have had the privilege to work with Zelienople and Harmony Boroughs in their successful implementation of this new model of comprehensive planning, followed by a plan for Heidelberg, Carnegie, and Scott.  DCED believes that this new model of Implementable Comprehensive Planning will have a much greater chance in effecting change in communities.  No longer is the Comprehensive Plan the goal.  Now communities can expect specific strategies to solving their unique problems as the outcome of their planning.

To spread the word about this new model for planning the Western Section of American Planning Association of Pennsylvania sponsored two workshops, one in Latrobe and the other in Carnegie, PA.  The sessions, led by Denny Puko (DCED) and Jim Pashek were very well received.  DCED then sponsored similar workshops near Philadelphia, Scranton, State College, and Meadville.

We have just learned that the Workshop will be shared with a national audience with a presentation at the APA conference in Chicago on April 13-17, 2013.  If you are planning to go to the conference next spring, make sure you stop in and say hello to Jim and Denny.  They will be speaking on Wednesday, April 17.