This session focuses on how to make the planning process more impactful for small communities. Examples from three award-winning plans will share how to use engagement and fiscal analysis to design plans that help small towns define priorities and make meaningful progress with available resources.
This session features examples from three award-winning comp plans for small towns facing a spectrum of development, infrastructure, and housing challenges and highlights elements of the process and deliverables that were customized to meet their needs:
Parsons, Kansas is a rural community in southeast Kansas whose population has been steadily declining and aging. Much of the downtown was destroyed by a tornado in 2000 and the City has used grant funds and partnerships with local businesses to rebuild the streets and streetscape in the core, but some of the buildings remain vacant and many of the surrounding neighborhoods are in need of reinvestment. The Parsons Comp Plan focused on helping city leaders think differently about economic development and housing and prioritized investing in existing buildings and neighborhoods to make them more attractive and affordable to the people currently living in Parsons.
Sweetwater, Texas is a community struggling to retain current residents and businesses, but that also has opportunities for growth. The city had never done a comprehensive plan until amending its charter in 2021. This planning effort focused on synthesizing community input and resources into a clearly defined community identity, goals, and prioritized action plan that will help the community cultivate a more resilient local economy and neighborhoods.
Taylor, Texas is on the high growth end of the spectrum, facing rapid growth thanks to its proximity to Austin and recently being selected by Samsung for a new facility that will bring hundreds of jobs, new residents, and ancillary businesses. Managing growth in a manner that ensures the city stays attractive and affordable long-term was a high priority for city leadership. The Envision Taylor plan used land use fiscal analysis as a common language throughout the process to educate residents, evaluate growth scenarios, and inform implementation strategies.
Greg Reininger
Invited Speaker
Greg Reininger is a Statewide Bicycle and Pedestrian Planner with the Texas Department of Transportation. With a background in local and state government, his experience includes bike and pedestrian safety and statewide active transportation planning. Greg is leading TxDOT's District Bicycle Plan pilot and lives in his hometown of San …
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Greg Reininger is a Statewide Bicycle and Pedestrian Planner with the Texas Department of Transportation. With a background in local and state government, his experience includes bike and pedestrian safety and statewide active transportation planning. Greg is leading TxDOT's District Bicycle Plan pilot and lives in his hometown of San Antonio, TX.
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Ivonne De La Rosa
Invited Speaker
Planner, TxDOT
Talia Jacobson
Invited Speaker
Portland Office Director, Toole Design
Talia is the consultant project manager overseeing the four TxDOT district bicycle plan pilots. She specializes in working with decision-makers to find the right multimodal data resources and tools to illuminate meaningful tradeoffs between alternatives. As a seasoned public engagement strategist who leads culturally-responsive and …
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Portland Office Director, Toole Design
Talia is the consultant project manager overseeing the four TxDOT district bicycle plan pilots. She specializes in working with decision-makers to find the right multimodal data resources and tools to illuminate meaningful tradeoffs between alternatives. As a seasoned public engagement strategist who leads culturally-responsive and equity-centered efforts, she helps communities move through conflict into consensus. Her portfolio of work includes multimodal projects ranging from major arterial redesigns to targeted safety improvements, transportation system plans to statewide policy development, and urban trails to interstate megaprojects. She has on-the-ground experience turning policy into practice from within public agencies, with 12 years as a planner at Oregon DOT.
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Joey Pawlik
Invited Speaker
Director, Activate SA
Joey Pawlik is a San Antonio native who is passionate about creating a safer, more equitable, and connected active transportation and transit network for people of all ages and abilities. He is a bike commuter, transit user, and walker with a background in constituent advocacy, community engagement, …
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Director, Activate SA
Joey Pawlik is a San Antonio native who is passionate about creating a safer, more equitable, and connected active transportation and transit network for people of all ages and abilities. He is a bike commuter, transit user, and walker with a background in constituent advocacy, community engagement, policy, nonprofit development, and transportation planning. Joey holds a Master of Science in Urban and Regional Planning from UTSA and a Bachelor of Science in Sociology with a minor in Urban Planning from Texas A&M University. He is also a Dwight David Eisenhower Transportation Fellow. Most recently, he worked at the Alamo Area MPO and State Representative Barbara Gervin Hawkins.
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