Developing Standards for Cooperative Regional Planning

摘要

Understanding that attracting new jobs and investment to a community is not easy, the Greater Jackson Business and Community Alliance (GJBCA) of Jackson County, Michigan, is taking the lead in prototyping development and implementation of community-based performance standards based on an ISO conceptual model for evaluating growth-management strategies. This represents the first application in the U.S. of an ISO model to achieve continuous improvement in a community’s overall quality of life. The master plans for the city of Jackson and Jackson County provided the GJBCA with a framework for understanding community goals and identifying area needs and opportunities for improvement that would encourage community revitalization countywide, while promoting managed growth and controlling urban sprawl. Funded in part by a grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, the first phase of the pilot project focused on providing technical assistance (including training in ISO concepts and processes), developing consensus-based standards, and providing forums for idea sharing with township, city, and county officials working with land-use policies. Ten working groups were formed to address the areas of housing, economic development, environmental quality,arts and recreations, transportation, infrastructure public safety, education, community health, and government operation. Led by two co-chairs-a subject-area expert and an ISO process specialist-each group was guided by factsheets that took relevant elements of the city and counter master plans and identified goals and objectives. The groups then developed ISO-type performance standards and associated best practices. The project’s first phase provided the community leaders with numerous critical lessons learned, which will benefit other communities considering adopting an ISO performancebased approach. Over the next two years the GJBCA will pursue options for formally adopting the proposed performance measurements to effectively evaluate continuous-improvement options designed to ensure sustainability.