Sustainable Communities Initiative

Community Partners : Housing and Urban Development,
Funding:

The Gulf Coast Community Design Studio is pleased to be part of a consortium of organizations that were selected for a Sustainable Communities Regional Planning Grant from the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Office of Sustainable Housing and Communities. This is a new grant program, which is part of a federal initiative to bring together the work of HUD, the Department of Transportation, and the Environmental Protection Agency. A multidisciplinary review team drawn from eight federal agencies and from partners in philanthropy reviewed 225 eligible grants. HUD is funding 45 regions with consortia supporting innovative regional planning and development in 27 different states.

The Gulf Coast Community Design Studio is part of a consortium led by The Gulf Regional Planning Commission, and including South Mississippi Planning and Development District, the Gulf Coast Community Design Studio, Gulf Coast Renaissance Corporation, Ohio State University and the Kirwan Institute, and the Mississippi Center for Justice. Additionally, the proposal received the support of the three largest cities, Gulfport, Biloxi and Pascagoula, and the three coastal counties; each will join the Consortium to manage the project. The award amount totals two million dollars, to be combined with the leveraged resources contributed by each member of the Consortium.

The Gulf Regional Sustainability Plan is a three year, community planning process called the Constituency for a Sustainable Coast, the Gulf Coast Plan (CSC) and has eight key elements including: Equitable Housing for All, Sustaining Our Economy, Integrated Land Use and Modal Planning, Climate Change Adaptation for Sustainable Development, Clean and Healthy Gulf Coast Watershed, Clean Air for All, A Locally Grown Future and Sustainable Infrastructure.

According to Elaine Wilkinson, Executive Director of the Gulf Regional Planning Commission, “The CSC planning process will advance sustainable development within the Mississippi Gulf Coast region in multiple ways. It will bring comprehensive planning for the 14 local jurisdictions together for the first time, adding housing, environmental planning, food systems, and other topics to the regional planning for transportation and economic development that is already undertaken by the Gulf Regional Planning Commission and the Southern Mississippi Planning and Development District.”

The Constituency for a Sustainable Coast work will be accomplished with a structure that embodies the Consortium’s commitment to a fully inclusive planning process relying on input from both leaders and from everyday residents of the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Four temporary committees will lead the planning process over the three-year project period. These will be a 15 member Executive Committee drawn from the Gulf Regional Planning Commission’s Metropolitan Planning Organization Policy Committee and from the region’s community leaders, a larger Sustainability Working Group consisting of local municipal officers and representative of community organizations that are part of the day-to-day planning and development work of the Gulf Coast, a Regional Governments Committee representing the 14 cities and counties, and the Staff Project Management Committee made up of the directors of the consortium organizations.

The Gulf Coast Community Design Studio will be part of the planning team and have the primary responsibility to design and implement community outreach and education activities to help the committees and the general public understand and envision the opportunities and challenges of working together as a region to make a more sustainable Gulf Coast.