What is the Land Use Planning Community of Practice?
The Land Use Planning Community of Practice (COP) focuses on providing timely and relevant information to citizens and Extension professionals interested in land use planning, community planning and zoning, and sustainable development. We help empower citizen leaders who want to shape the future of their communities with useful tools and education for positive land use decisions: those who are interested in the basic concepts of public land use and development regulation and in the best practices of community development and smart growth. Specifically, the Land Use Planning COP has developed content and resources on:
- Zoning Regulation;
- Best Practices for Planning and Zoning;
- Sustainable Community Planning.
How is the Land Use Planning CoP Leadership Team Organized?
The Leadership Team guides the work of the Land Use Planning COP and conducts monthly virtual meetings to accomplish the goals of the team. The organizational framework is highlighted below.
- One leader will be from each Cooperative Extension Rural Development Region (e.g. North Central, East, South, West)
- At least three leaders will be at large representatives
- A member of the leadership team will serve as a content leader for the three general content areas: Land Use Regulation, Public Participation, and Best Practices. Additional content teams may be formed.
- A national liaison from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) will serve on the leadership team.
Who is on the Current Leadership Team?
The 2010-2011 Leadership Team consists of the following members:
COP Leader: Wayne Beyea, Michigan State University
Regional Representatives:
North Central- Gary Taylor, Iowa State University; Land Use Regulation Content Leader
East- Robert Kent, Cornell University; Ask an Expert Leader
South- Jonah Fogel, Virginia Tech
West- Mark Apel, University of Arizona; Best Practices Content Leader
At Large Representatives:
Steve Smutko, University of Wyoming; Public Participation Content Leader
Anna Haines (University of Wisconsin; Sustainable Communities Task Force Co-Leader
Wayne Beyea, Michigan State University
National Liaison:
Fen Hunt, USDA NIFA
Content and Organizational Facilitators:
Glenn Pape, Michigan State University
Kurt Schindler, Michigan State University
Eric Sarb, Michigan State University (Research Intern)
How Can I become involved with the Land Use Planning COP?
There are a number of ways that members of the COP can contribute. Beyond the formal leadership roles members can contribute in one or more of the following subject areas:
- Answering Incoming Questions from the Public (Ask an Expert)
- Peer Reviewing FAQs to Publish for Public Searching
- Authoring/Peer Review Learning Lessons (or co-author)
- Authoring/Peer Review short Articles of Content (or co-author)
- Contributing News or Press Releases
- Contributing Events to the Calendar
- Technical support person for content development (Wiki formating or Multimedia)
- Conducting professional development training
- Assist with marking and promotion efforts
For more information please contact Wayne Beyea, Michigan State University, LUP COP Leader (beyea@msu.edu ; 517-432-7600)
