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Preparing for the
Future: A Guide to Community-Based Planning
Across the nation, the desire to
mitigate local problems and ameliorate socioeconomic disparities
is increasingly recognized by state policy makers, local elected
officials, and the citizenry at large. Moreover, the need to attract
and retain sufficient levels of human capital in rural areas to
improve the overall quality of life is often a major priority
for many communities. One way that local leaders, community developers,
and Cooperative Extension personnel can assist in the community
and economic development agenda of rural communities is by facilitating
a community's local planning process, a process commonly referred
to as community-based planning. Community-based planning is a
local comprehensive planning process that is designed to build,
strengthen, and support community structures. The overall intent
of community-based planning is to develop an inclusive plan that
individual and associational actors can utilize to guide local
community development initiatives. The process directly engages
community leaders and the broad-based citizenry in an active effort
to move their community from today's reality to tomorrow's possibilities.
With an understanding of community and the techniques involved
in the process of community-based planning, local leaders, community
developers, and Cooperative Extension personnel can become actively
involved at the community level and serve as a resource in moving
forward the planning-to-action process.
- Gene Theodori, Texas A&M
University
- Deborah Tootle, Louisiana
State University
- Greg Taylor, Texas A&M
University
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