Effective Planning

Planning refers to how policymakers design, regulate, and manage the built environment. A comprehensive and inclusive planning process is essential to the creation of livable, age-friendly communities. These communities are designed to meet the needs of people of all ages and ability levels. By focusing on key areas such as outdoor spaces, transportation, housing, social participation, and community services, planners can ensure that communities are livable and supportive for everyone. Conversely, poor planning can negatively affect residents. Poor planning can create communities that require driving. Residents may have less proximity to high-quality jobs and workers, and they can suffer the health consequences of being more sedentary or isolated.

The planning process begins by creating a community’s holistic, long-term vision. A community then establishes goals and policies related to housing, transportation, public spaces, and other areas. To further refine this framework, planners engage with community members and other stakeholders to gather input and ensure the plan reflects the needs and desires of the population. Planners often work in tandem with community partners to engage hard-to-reach populations. This collaborative approach helps build consensus and support for the plan.

Once the vision and goals are established, planners develop specific strategies and actions to implement these policies. This may include zoning regulations, land-use plans, infrastructure projects, and environmental protections. The planning process is iterative and adaptive, requiring regular monitoring and updates to respond to changing conditions and new information. In addition, effective planning also involves coordination with various government agencies, private sector partners, and nonprofit organizations to ensure comprehensive and integrated development.

Land-use patterns, housing, and transportation systems influence public health outcomes. Traditionally, planning has not included a comprehensive evaluation of the health implications of different planning options. However, this is beginning to change with the adoption of new processes that integrate health into planning. A Health Impact Assessment is a process used to evaluate the potential health effects of a proposed plan, policy, project, or program. The goal is to provide recommendations that promote positive health outcomes and minimize adverse effects. Health in All Policies create a systematic approach with cross-sector collaboration to address the social determinants of health. The goal is to ensure that health is considered in all policy areas, including housing, transportation, and employment.

Incentives and requirements: Planners can use developer incentives or requirements to promote livability and expand access to affordable, accessible housing options (see also Creation of Livable Communities). This approach allows people from a broader range of income levels to benefit from a community’s employment opportunities, education, and amenities.

For example, affordable housing districts are designated areas where requirements and incentives are implemented to expand housing options for households with low and moderate incomes. These districts often include a mix of housing types and are designed to provide long-term affordability through tools such as density bonuses and inclusionary zoning.

• Density bonuses enable developers to build more or larger units than typically allowed. In exchange, developers contribute to public policy goals, such as constructing affordable housing units.
• Inclusionary zoning requires developers of market-rate housing to set aside some units that are affordable for people with low and moderate incomes.

In some cases, communities allow developers to pay fees in lieu of building on-site affordable housing units. These fees can be used to build affordable housing elsewhere. If fees are too low, developers pay less than they would on-site. In addition, the housing may not be in the same community as the market-rate development. This can reduce affordable housing options in desirable neighborhoods. It also does not mitigate housing segregation by income, ability level, race, ethnicity, and other factors.

Parking: It is critical that communities provide enough parking to meet the needs of residents, including people with disabilities. However, providing too much parking can be harmful. Many municipalities require two parking spaces for each housing unit, even in dense urban areas with ample alternatives to driving. These communities may also require stores to build parking for customers. Consumers bear the burden of this by paying more for housing and higher prices in stores. There is also an important opportunity cost. The land used for parking cannot be used for other purposes, such as building more housing, businesses, bike lanes, and community centers. Moreover, parking requirements can make it infeasible to develop smaller, more compact housing that could increase supply and contribute to lower housing costs.

Planners can use various techniques to reduce the number of parking spots. In addition to reducing or eliminating parking requirements, they can consider the following measures to reduce the number of spots:

• Unbundled parking allows housing units and parking spots to be sold or rented separately.
• Shared parking designates spaces that can be shared among different people rather than used individually. Fewer spaces are needed to meet the total peak parking demand.
• Parking benefit districts allow people to pay the market price for parking with the revenue reinvested into the community where the spaces are located.

National plan on aging: A comprehensive national plan on aging does not yet exist. Putting one in place would help communities to promote healthy aging, enabling older adults to experience financial resilience, maintain good health, and remain in their homes and communities. A national plan could build upon successful plans at the state and local level, which exist in some form in about half of states. These are sometimes called multisector plans for aging (MPAs). State MPAs vary in scope, including their goals and target populations. However, they all encourage the development of solutions and approaches that involve collaboration across government, private entities, and the public.