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2016 CONFERENCE TECHNICAL SESSION KNOXVILLE By Sheryl Ely & Amy Brooks
Ideas & Designs for Our Future
Learning from East Tennessee’s
Sustainable Communities Project
When communities plan for their of opportunity in East Tennessee with foundations and
future, the normal steps include engag- an overarching goal to put the region on private sector organizations.
ing the public to help determine visions a path to improving the lives of all who
and goals. In East Tennessee, the normal live in the region. The planning initiative Outreach Efforts
planning process was modified utilizing was aptly named Plan East Tennessee or
alternative community engagement out- PlanET. The initiative began as a normal plan-
reach, building capacity for collaboration ning process but due to unproductive
and getting communities to think about PlanET focused on fostering ongoing community meetings, a “pivot” in the
equity. citizen involvement in planning for the process required the partners to think
region’s future, developing a regional outside the box to diversify the type and
Knoxville Mayor Madeline Rogero initi- playbook to share strategies and provide number of community engagement and
ated the application for the HUD Sustain- guidance for local policy and increasing equity activities. The pivot incorporated
able Community grant for a five-county local capacity for dialogue and action. a new strategy of engagement focused on
region consisting of Anderson, Blount, Over 60 community partners worked on meeting people where they were, incorpo-
Knox, Loudon and Union Counties, the initiative, with the Knoxville – Knox rating an equity lens to all conversations,
including 16 cities and four towns. In County Metropolitan Planning Com- and developing a playbook for action, not
2011, the five county region was awarded mission, the Knoxville Regional Trans- just a plan. In order to accomplish these
$4.3 million toward the initiative with an portation Organization, the University goals, a multi-faceted outreach strategy
additional $2.4 million of in-kind support of Tennessee Office of Research and the was created that incorporated a variety of
for a total of $6.7 million to focus on a City of Knoxville taking the lead. Even input tools. These tools consisted of:
30-month planning process. The goal of with more than 60 partners, there was a • Regional Outreach Series – input ses-
the initiative was to provide a geography lack of partners in the areas of education,
sions held throughout the region
18 TPW January/February 2017
