Knoxville, Tenn. – As Plan East Tennessee, or PlanET, broadens its 2012 regional planning efforts for Anderson, Blount, Knox, Loudon and Union counties with continued community face-to-face dialogues, the initiative also has launched a free online town hall tool to spur citizen participation, “MindMixer.”
A regional partnership of communities building a shared direction for the future, PlanET is seeking ideas about protecting valuable resources and addressing local challenges in five key areas: jobs, housing, transportation, a clean environment and community health.
“We have been pleased with the turnouts throughout the five counties to gather citizen input from all walks of life about the long-term direction of our regional community,” said Mayor Tom Taylor, City of Maryville, PlanET Board of Mayors Vice-Chair.
“While our face-to-face input sessions are an ideal way to gather peoples’ ideas, we also offer a supplement to these in-person forums through our online town hall, MindMixer,” Mayor Taylor said.
MindMixer is a virtual town hall forum that facilitates community planning dialogues online. Accessible through the PlanET website (http://engage.planeasttn.org/), anyone can join the dialogue and contribute ideas.
“The PlanET virtual town hall is a great way for folks to weigh in with their own ideas, in their own words, about specific regional issues,” Mayor Taylor said. “For people with busy schedules who can’t attend a meeting, it provides terrific interactive access to the PlanET process of generating community input.”
The online forum allows participants to help prioritize ideas by voting with “Love it!,” “Like It!,” “It’s OK,” or “Neutral” feedback buttons – with a certain number of points assigned to each level of feedback. This forum enables community-supported ideas to rise to the top of the discussion.
Participants online also can earn their own points for a variety of prizes such as gift certificates and free passes by registering with MindMixer, contributing ideas, responding to others’ ideas, and referring friends to participate – making the system fun and motivational.
Citizens also can view a schedule of all upcoming community events on PlanET’s online calendar: http://www.planeasttn.org/Participate/EventCalendar.aspx//
Community Participation is Essential
“A big part of our goal with PlanET is to hear from a diverse and active base of citizens and organizations throughout the region and maintain their participation in this long-term planning effort,” Mayor Tom Beehan, City of Oak Ridge, PlanET Board of Mayor’s Chairperson said. “We want them to get fully engaged in this process and become active partners for the most ‘livable’ East Tennessee possible, from now through many decades in the future.”
While a key result of PlanET centers on developing an actual plan for the region, one of the most important outcomes is to establish a committed coalition of leaders, organizations and individuals who will follow through the plan to implementation and continue regional involvement that extends beyond the 36-month PlanET project, Mayor Beehan said.
Differentiating PlanET From “Nine Counties, One Vision”
According to Mayor Beehan, one of the most common misperceptions is that PlanET is simply a repeat of “Nine Counties, One Vision,” which isn’t accurate.
“Many people remember ‘Nine Counties, One Vision’ from over a decade ago, which was a large-scale visioning effort that had a variety of positive outcomes for the region,” Mayor Beehan said. “However, PlanET is much different.”
Unlike “Nine Counties,” PlanET focuses on a more cohesive economic region – the Knoxville region, defined in part by worker commuting patterns showing a strong degree of economic interdependence across county lines.
While “Nine Counties” was based on an immediate regional visioning process, PlanET is focused on long-term community involvement and actual implementation of a plan that will continue long after the three-year PlanET grant ends in 2013.
Over the three-year PlanET process, which began in late summer 2011, three phases will lead to a targeted, meaningful outcome.
Phase One (August 2011 – July 2012) will bring East Tennesseans together to establish a shared identity and vision. Phase Two (April 2012 – March 2013) will take that vision and will develop a shared direction with continued citizen input. Phase Three (January 2013 – December 2013) will produce and report the final product, again with continued citizen input, and focus on implementation activities.
About PlanET
Plan East Tennessee (PlanET) is a regional partnership of communities building a shared direction for the future of Anderson, Blount, Knox, Loudon and Union counties.
PlanET seeks ideas about protecting valuable resources and addressing challenges regarding jobs, housing, transportation, a clean environment, and community health. The goal: to create long-term solutions for investments in the region and to define the next chapter in the region’s rich history, leaving a legacy of optimism and opportunity for future generations.
PlanET is overseen by the Knoxville-Knox County Metropolitan Planning Commission (MPC) and managed through the Knoxville Regional Transportation Planning Organization (TPO), through a grant awarded from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Sustainable Communities Regional Planning Grant Program.
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Alcoa, Tenn. — With Earth Day on April 22 and the East Tennessee economy gradually improving, many home and business owners are seeking to make their new building projects in 2012 and beyond greener but still affordable.
