3073 Miles; More Than 100 Planners

Planning Commissioners Journal

During the trip, Wayne met with more than a hundred planners, planning commissioners, local officials, and citizens in dozens of cities and towns from Maryland to California.

As far as we know, Wayne is the first reporter who has traveled cross-country and posted daily blog entries focusing on planning and development issues facing communities. His series of reports are available by way of our Web site: www.plannersweb.com. Wayne will also be drawing on what he heard during his travels in feature articles to be included in coming issues of the Planning Commissioners Journal.

What did he learn during his travels? "One of the things that most struck me," Wayne notes, "is how what's most important about our communities is usually obscured behind the look-alike strip development we're all so familiar with. But when you get behind this 'curtain' you often find remarkable local efforts taking place, such as the dedication of hundreds of Emporia, Kansas, residents to restore their historic downtown theater ... or the work being done in places like Moab, Utah, and Lenexa, Kansas, to ensure that all city neighborhoods are linked by non-motorized pathways and trails."

Wayne's trip included some fascinating detours, including a visit with Dave Yearout, the planning consultant retained to work on new plans to rebuild tornado-devastated Greensburg, Kansas. Dave shared with Wayne how he recently returned to Greensburg after working on the city's master plan several years ago, holding perhaps the only remaining copy of the master plan in his hands (the rest were destroyed by the tornado). Wayne also visited with planners working in what's likely the most unusual planning commission in America -- the National Capital Planning Commission -- to talk about the innovative work they're doing to incorporate better design into building security in light of 9/11. Then later the same day, going from the national to the local, Wayne met with residents in a predominantly black Washington, D.C. neighborhood fighting for new commercial development to replace a drug and crime prone area.

There are dozens of fascinating stories like this -- all with accompanying photos -- you can read about on the Route 50 travel blog. Again, you can access the blog through our Web site: www.plannersweb.com.