Making It Real: Course Outline

Rex Burkholder:

Confronted daily by alarming increases in traffic congestion, sprawl, urban disinvestment and citizen frustration and anger, elected officials and planners too often retreat behind another planning exercise or just continue business as usual—with the usual results.

In this provocative and useful one-day seminar, you will learn how the Portland region and its MPO, Metro, has successfully turned “colors on a map” into revitalized suburban centers, reclaimed older neighborhoods, increased transit, pedestrian and bicycle use, controlled sprawl and engaged citizens in pro-actively planning their future.

Practical, useful and implementable

You will learn how to:

Use public visioning and goal setting to develop the political support for smart growth initiatives;

Use the MPO to bring together agencies and government leaders around a common regional agenda;

Take advantage of the smart growth supportive provisions of the TEA-21, including Transportation Enhancements, CMAQ and flexible programming;

Direct federal transportation dollars into projects that leverage desired community development while improving access and safety; and

Create road standards that support adjacent land uses, putting the legendary “land use/transportation connection” on the ground, not just in policy statements.

Using local case studies and actual, adopted policies participants will discover how to translate planning and transportation goals into workable solutions in their community. Specific emphasis will be on how to adapt innovative policies and programs to local conditions. Pre-seminar interviews with key players will identify local challenges and opportunities.

Making your MPO a “player”

Your MPO will become a key player in making changes on the ground that will result in a better community, a better place to live.

Many Metropolitan Planning Organizations struggle to fulfill their intended purpose of coordinating and planning for growth in their regions. Often they are beset by intra-regional rivalries, a history of politicized decision-making and lack of public support (or even knowledge of their existence!).

Observers of modern urban trends such as Neal Pierce declare that regionalism is necessary if we are to protect and enhance quality of life and the economy in our communities. MPO’s are uniquely positioned as the only regional entities. MPO’s have the charge and the opportunity to provide regional cooperation and direction critical for the success of regional economies. But establishing this leadership role can be difficult. The natural place to start to assert this role is in the areas where federal law gives the MPO a real and critical role—in transportation planning and funding. An effective regional voice also can make a real difference in protecting open spaces and habitat as well as avoid environmental damage caused by poorly planned transportation and development.

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Making It Real: Course Outline
Note: course can be adapted to local priorities
8:00	Registration
8:30	Welcome and Introductions
8:45	The Power Of A Vision
	Portland's 2040 Concept What's in it for us? Creating support for cooperation Regionalism (Orfield and Pierce)
9:45	The MPO
	Role of the MPO, the forgotten convenor Setting the table and getting the right players to sit
10:15	Break
10:30	Tools Furthering The Regional Vision
	Using the federal transportation funding process to push regionalism and economic development, including funding criteria for programming federal flexible funds Regional Street Design Standards (Linking land use and street design) Green Street Guidelines (storm water mitigation)
12:00	Lunch Break
1PM	Tools continued, as needed
1:30	Implementing The Vision
	Transit investment Land use and transportation coordination Protection of habitat and open spaces
2:00	Role Of Citizen Involvement
	Land use planning as if the future mattered—and people had a say. What citizen involvement is and isn’t The role of community leaders Fostering civic infrastructure: advocacy groups and engaged citizenry
3:15	Break
3:30	Local Case Studies/Implementation

Who Should Attend
Transportation professionals: (planners and engineers) from cities and counties as well as the MPO Elected officials: mayors, city & county commissioners, transit district, port authorities Citizens: neighborhood leaders, business leaders, community development specialists Consultants: they write the plans that gather dust and would like to see them implemented

What you will have when it's all over
At the end of the day, in a group exercise, you will be asked to formulate an implementation strategy, focusing on how the tools presented can further regional transportation, land use goals and as regional cooperation. You will have copies of Metro’s transportation and land use policies, transportation funding criteria, street design standards and other pertinent and useful materials.

Fee: $1500 fee includes pre interviews with key parties, full day seminar for 30 (including materials); travel expenses not included.

Rex Burkholder: