Pathways to Planning
In Brief
This on-line tool was developed by Smart Growth Vermont in partnership with the Orton Family Foundation. The on-line tool acts as an interactive “consultant” to citizens and local planners for their town. It can help local groups address community issues, learn about land use development, sprawl and smart growth and develop strategies for action.
Summary
This on-line tool asks a number of questions about your community, and offers strategies, case studies, tutorials, and examples of how to implement smart growth policies. The tool will help you:
- Learn what other towns are doing to improve their town centers;
- Explore ways to provide more housing choices;
- Identify citizen involvement strategies; and
- Examine how to protect wildlife habitat and important open spaces.
Pathways to Planning features eight land use issue areas in addition to a general section. You can visit all sections, or use the section of most interest. The tool is free and each section takes about 5-15 minutes to complete. The issue areas include:
- Development Patterns
- Transportation
- Natural Resources
- Public Access to Open Space
- Agriculture
- Town Centers
- Historic Resources, and
- Housing
You must complete the General section and can stop at any time and return to edit your answers or continue with another section. Please note that you do need a familiarity with your town’s plan, polices and bylaws to help answer the questions.
