Implementing a Regional Sustainability Plan with Scenario-Based Planning

Abstract

Many regions in the US and Europe have developed plans for sustainable community development, but implementation often faces challenges due to uneven stakeholder support. To address this, the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) launched the Sustainable Communities Grants program to foster collaborative implementation processes. Central Texas received one of these grants and engaged a broad network of partners to develop scenario-based planning tools for creating sustainable activity centres in urban, suburban, and rural contexts over the next 30 years. This paper presents the second-generation scenario planning software, which provides immediate feedback on “what if” land use scenarios to minimise inappropriate development and includes educational features offering design alternatives when negative effects are identified. It outlines the collaboration of regional partners, the sustainability indicators embedded in the software, and the long-term goal of building an open-source, web-accessible platform.