Author: Jason Valerius, AICP

Urban planning helps local leaders make proactive, informed decisions to improve their communities through land use and development, recreational amenities, economics growth, transportation and infrastructure. Check out this free infographic on urban planning.

Planners work to understand the challenges communities face and develop sustainable, implementable plans to guide them in overcoming those hurdles. Despite a community's location off the beaten path, growth in rural communities is happening.

Planning Safe Routes to School involves assessing both infrastructure and non-infrastructure needs to ensure that bicycling and walking are safe and preferred modes of transportation for students. Check out this slide deck for ideas on how to plan your community’s safe school zone.

The core challenge for small towns today is not the difficulty of attracting employers. Instead, it is challenge is attracting and training employees - people with the skills to be successful in today's economy. Download our free guide to Rural Workforce Development in the 21st Century. 

Every project begins with a plan - a strong, realistic vision for the future. Whether completing a small-community project or facilitating multi-year, multi-jurisdictional planning processes, strong communication is the foundation to every project's success.