As the Campaign for Sensible Growth wrapped up at the end of 2007, it handed off its projects and priorities to MPC and other steering committee members.
Building off of nearly a decade of achievements by the
Campaign for Sensible Growth, the
Metropolitan
Planning Council’s 2008 Policy Agenda, Opportunity Knocks
,
articulates a fresh focus on the variables that create sustainability and a
better quality of life in individual communities and on a regional scale. Like
MPC, the Campaign expertly combined hands-on technical assistance with sound
planning and development policy, and built consensus among seemingly disparate
interests.
Among MPC’s top
priority projects in 2008 are supporting the newly formed Chicago Metropolitan
Agency for Planning (CMAP) as it takes regional planning to the next level in
northeastern Illinois; working with Openlands, another Campaign partner, to
inform the state’s first regional water supply planning initiative; and
conducting research on innovative, lasting and practical solutions to our
region’s traffic gridlock and ailing transportation systems.
Michael Davidson
, manager of the Campaign for Sensible Growth, has
joined MPC’s staff as manager of planning, strengthening the organization’s
capacity to promote and implement sensible growth practices around the region.
While at the helm of the Campaign, Davidson helped secure new sensible growth
tools in Illinois, focused on building capacity and support for CMAP, and
generated valuable guides for decision-makers, such as
Retail 1-2-3
, produced in partnership with the
International Council of Shopping Centers.
MPC’s 2008 Policy Agenda reinforces a strong
organizational tradition of advocating for state leadership on planning –
leadership that can take many forms. For example, MPC continues to push for
state funding of the Local Planning Technical Assistance Act to support
disinvested and fast-growing communities that do comprehensive planning. We also
will continue to advocate for resources for the Green Neighborhoods Award Act,
which provides incentives for developments that meet the certification standards
of
LEED
for Neighborhood Development (LEED-ND
)
. And our planning efforts extend well beyond
Springfield
. MPC
leverages the skills of an expert staff, talented volunteers, sound research,
and expanded GIS and data analysis capacity — in city council chambers and the
boardrooms of our regional land-use and transportation agencies — so the people
of metropolitan
Chicago
can live, work, and play in
thoughtfully planned communities. Our work plan is dynamic, with projects that
run the gamut — from helping to implement cohesive development around transit
stops to creating places of lasting value though a partnership with The Project
for Public Spaces. MPC is also hands-on through its Community Building
Initiative (CBI) that includes projects as varied as corridor planning along the
Calumet
River
in the south suburbs
and Employer-Assisted Housing (EAH) projects in the north suburbs, both of which
involve intergovernmental coordination. Whether an initiative is policy-driven
like LEED-ND or event driven — like legacy planning for the 2016 Olympics bid —
MPC is ready to seize a good planning opportunity.
According
to Davidson, “Sensible growth is dynamic. It
is both a technical application and a theoretical
construct. It covers nearly every aspect of modern life - from the economy
to the environment to our health and well-being. It requires grass-roots support
and top-level leadership.” In 1998, the coalition partners created the Campaign
for Sensible Growth to build awareness of and support for coordinated planning
and investment. Despite impressive achievements on sensible growth public
education, policy advocacy, and technical assistance, the ideal of regional
sustainability remains elusive. MPC will continue to be a champion of
coordinated, sustainable development that provides equity of opportunity for all
residents of the region.
Read about the Campaign's History of Success or browse
the Campaign’s many publications on MPC’s Web site
.
To
learn how you can become involved with MPC’s sensible growth work, please
contact
Michael Davidson
, manager of
planning, at (312) 863-6009 or
mdavidson@metroplanning.org
.