A sampling of Megan’s favorite planning projects
PRIORITIZING LIVABILITY IN SARASOTA-MANATEE
When the Sarasota-Manatee MPO needed help prioritizing project investments for livability and environmental outcomes (e.g., bicycle and pedestrian access, job access, reduction of environmental impact) Megan created a detailed inventory of available data — from health care statistics to multimodal accessibility numbers — and crafted an innovative set of measures to guide the process. The framework was designed to explicitly align with local, state and national policy goals. It also was founded on base data that are realistically obtainable and maintainable in-house, through online open access, and via community partnerships such as hospitals, social service agencies and environmental groups.
(Download a copy of the report submitted to the MPO for approval.)
CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT IN LAKE BUTLER FOREST
Global real estate investment trust Weyerhaeuser contracted with Megan’s studio team at Georgia Tech to develop long-term conservation and development alternatives for its 113,000-acre timberland holdings in North Central Florida. The team assessed current conditions and 100-year potential changes in land use, economic development, urban design, transportation, and environment. Megan and the economic development team assessed demographic trends, workforce opportunities, infrastructure needs (including rural internet), and emerging industries that might leverage sustainable natural resources. Guiding principles included local residents’ stated desires — maintaining a rural lifestyle and improving job opportunities for future generations — as well as consideration for typically-disregarded voices, such as the high prison population in the area. Megan served as lead editor on the report and contributed to the GIS and design efforts.
INTEGRATING TRANSIT AND COMPLETE STREETS
The Florida Department of Transportation has developed a resource that highlights innovative planning processes, design methods, and collaboration strategies for integrating transit into complete streets. Megan served as a key member of the research and writing team, analyzing progressive transit practices in communities nationwide, interviewing agencies that led notable transit planning initiatives, and synthesizing the findings in a best practices document.
(Download the report [PDF], available as of June 2018)
FOSTERING HEALTHY COMMUNITIES
Healthy Places for Healthy People is an EPA Technical Assistance program aimed at creating “walkable, healthy, economically vibrant downtowns and neighborhoods that can improve health, protect the environment, and support economic growth.” Megan supported community and health care leaders in Monett, Missouri (pictured), and Anderson, Indiana, in their efforts to encourage, respectively, healthy, cross-city housing and transportation options and to develop hospital-centered districts and programming, respectively. The work involved guiding team calls, conducting three-day onsite workshops and a community meeting, synthesizing ideas and compiling an in-depth report with implementable, time-specific steps for the communities to follow.
(Download Anderson’s Community Action Plan [PDF].)
