National Community Planning Month 2021

Every October is National Community Planning Month. No, it doesn’t mean that you have to take your planner to lunch….but I’ll keep campaigning for that custom each year! It also doesn’t mean that community planning is only important during one month out of the year. Planning should be a priority throughout the year, but October is for celebration!

October is a time to celebrate planning’s impact on your community. It is time to look back on your planning studies and consider how they’ve been implemented so far. This is also a good time to look back on the good community planning has done for your community. It could be a well-designed new development, or redevelopment of a run down area of town. Planning can have a positive impact when applied by those who believe in the future of your community.

Learn more about National Community Planning Month at www.planning.org/ncpm.

Now, after you thank your local planner (preferably with coffee, the elixir of the overworked planner), go to that shelf in your office and dust off all of your existing community plans. Take some time to read them. Don’t just look at the goals or the renderings of what could be, read it thoroughly to know it inside and out. You’ll have a better appreciation for the plan and will be in a better position to help make it a reality.

Rural Resurrection will do our part, providing a series of posts specifically dedicated to planning in October. Last year we featured the following posts:

• Why Plan? – In observance of National Planning Month, we ask the question “Why Plan?”
• 5 Specific Area Plans to Consider – There’s more to planning than comprehensive planning. Here are 5 specific area plans to consider.
• Reviewing Zoning & Plat Applications – Plat and zoning-related applications are often the toughest part of the development process. Reviewing applications is often where projects get snagged, hampering development opportunities. Having an organized and understandable process that you stick to is important.

Regardless of how you celebrate National Community Planning Month, it is a good time to sit back and contemplate the impact that planning can have on your community. As the American Planning Association’s website states:

“Planners work to improve the well-being of all people living in our communities by taking a comprehensive perspective. This approach leads to safer, resilient, more equitable, and more prosperous communities. We celebrate the role that planning plays in creating great communities in October with National Community Planning Month.“