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Gwinett County, GA Receives County Planning Award
5.27.10 | Gwinnett County, GA | A comprehensive long-range unified plan undertaken by Gwinnett
County, Georgia received an Excellence in County Planning Award from The County
Planning Division of the American Planning Association and the National
Association of County Planners (an affiliate of the National Association of
Counties). The award-winning plan was prepared by
Parsons Brinckerhoff’s (PB) PlaceMaking group on behalf of the county.
For four decades, Gwinnett County was a national exemplar of unfettered growth. Its population grew tenfold to more than 750,000 accompanied by equally rapid job growth. This trajectory produced congestion, lack of open space, infrastructure glitches, strip malls and few land reserves for future opportunities. Nevertheless, affordable housing, excellent schools, low taxes, economic opportunity, first-class recreational facilities and abundant retail kept attracting droves of newcomers. As build-out inched closer, an unhappy ending to this surge was in sight: a hyper-growth legacy included critical stresses on the county’s economy, social cohesion, infrastructure and fiscal resources.
Gwinnett seized the opportunity of a plan update to take a serious look at its future, embarking on an ambitious experiment -- updating, in unison, its comprehensive plan, its transportation plan, and its consolidated housing plan. This multi-year endeavor included the efforts of multi-firm consultant team, a 24-member citizen advisory committee, a 12-member county technical team, numerous stakeholder interviews, and nine participating cities.
Dan Reuter, Land Use Division Chief at the Atlanta Regional Commission, called the plan “The best plan in Georgia’s history.”
The awards committee stated: "Gwinnett County, located in the greater Atlanta area, was recognized for a very ambitious and detailed 2030 Unified Plan that incorporates excellent data and implementation steps to address a variety of issues that this high-growth area currently faces. The awards committee was particularly impressed with the scope of the project, as well as the outreach efforts including the website."
Parsons Brinckerhoff (PB) is a leader in developing and operating infrastructure around the world, with 14,000 employees dedicated to meeting the needs of clients and communities in the Americas, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Asia and Australia-Pacific regions. PB offers skills and resources in strategic consulting, planning, engineering, program/construction management, and operations for all modes of infrastructure, including transportation, power, community development, water and the environment. Parsons Brinckerhoff is part of Balfour Beatty plc, the international infrastructure Group operating in professional services, construction services, support services and infrastructure investments (www.pbworld.com).
For four decades, Gwinnett County was a national exemplar of unfettered growth. Its population grew tenfold to more than 750,000 accompanied by equally rapid job growth. This trajectory produced congestion, lack of open space, infrastructure glitches, strip malls and few land reserves for future opportunities. Nevertheless, affordable housing, excellent schools, low taxes, economic opportunity, first-class recreational facilities and abundant retail kept attracting droves of newcomers. As build-out inched closer, an unhappy ending to this surge was in sight: a hyper-growth legacy included critical stresses on the county’s economy, social cohesion, infrastructure and fiscal resources.
Gwinnett seized the opportunity of a plan update to take a serious look at its future, embarking on an ambitious experiment -- updating, in unison, its comprehensive plan, its transportation plan, and its consolidated housing plan. This multi-year endeavor included the efforts of multi-firm consultant team, a 24-member citizen advisory committee, a 12-member county technical team, numerous stakeholder interviews, and nine participating cities.
Dan Reuter, Land Use Division Chief at the Atlanta Regional Commission, called the plan “The best plan in Georgia’s history.”
The awards committee stated: "Gwinnett County, located in the greater Atlanta area, was recognized for a very ambitious and detailed 2030 Unified Plan that incorporates excellent data and implementation steps to address a variety of issues that this high-growth area currently faces. The awards committee was particularly impressed with the scope of the project, as well as the outreach efforts including the website."
Parsons Brinckerhoff (PB) is a leader in developing and operating infrastructure around the world, with 14,000 employees dedicated to meeting the needs of clients and communities in the Americas, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Asia and Australia-Pacific regions. PB offers skills and resources in strategic consulting, planning, engineering, program/construction management, and operations for all modes of infrastructure, including transportation, power, community development, water and the environment. Parsons Brinckerhoff is part of Balfour Beatty plc, the international infrastructure Group operating in professional services, construction services, support services and infrastructure investments (www.pbworld.com).
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