NOAA’s Community Planning Course Completed Now in Half the Time

NOAA’s Community Planning Course Completed Now in Half the Time 

The Coastal Community Planning and Development training from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Coastal Services Center helps participants grapple with development and redevelopment issues in ways that can maximize community benefits and limit negative consequences. After a recent redesign of the course, participants can receive the full benefit of this popular training in half the time.

The redesigned training incorporates both online and in-person components. The online portion can be done on the participant’s own time (one to two hours) and offers easy step-by-step guidance. The in-person workshop component now takes just one day instead of two. The workshop features group exercises, a local speaker and community discussions, and information about tools that can support alternative development approaches. 

Course trainees get the biggest benefit when a wide variety of community members attend. Participants often include local elected officials and related personnel, coastal resource managers, business leaders, developers and realtors, land use and hazard mitigation planners, floodplain and emergency managers, and concerned community residents and groups.

Determining how and where growth and re-development occurs can have huge environmental, economic, and social consequences. This training engages participants in learning about planning processes, conventional patterns of development, impacts from these development patterns, and alternative development options for their community. It also offers techniques for engaging stakeholders in a variety of group settings.

To learn more or to set up this training for your community, contact the NOAA Coastal Services Center at csc.info@noaa.gov.