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.

Trail Planning at Slippery Rock

Slippery Rock University graduate students conducted a highly successful public meeting on campus trails October 16 with the help of Jim Pashek, President of Pashek Associates.  Over 80 people attended the workshop that included presentations of existing conditions, facilitation of small group discussions at 16 tables and, after everyone had an opportunity to express their top issues, voting was conducted to prioritize those issues.

Jim coached the Sustainable Landscapes class on ways of making public meetings more engaging and emphasized strategies that encourage the building of trust between meeting facilitators and attendees.  After the meeting, the class acknowledged their enthusiasm about their roles in the public meeting and were amazed at how participants became excited to share their concerns and expectations.

The public meeting was part of a larger trail planning process that John Buerkle, principal at Pashek Associates, was assisting the graduate students with.  He has worked with the students on how soils, topography, and vegetation impact both the design and ability to maintain trails.  They also looked at logical connections through the campus.

The public meeting was held in the new Robert M. Smith Student Center, a beautiful space for the meeting.  Kudos to our friends at DRS for their work on that building.