Rural communities often face the seemingly insurmountable task of preserving their identity in the face of development pressures. County planning agencies are challenged to respond. Lack of consensus and limited vision further compound the issue of defining and preserving rural identity.

Comprehensive planning can be an invaluable means of developing a vision, identifying priorities, and establishing goals, objectives and policies for rural communities. A well-executed planning process leads to general consensus on key objectives. The plan and the resulting consensus provides the vehicle for implementing key policies through subsequent regulatory amendments. The plan can help define rural identity.

The Jefferson County Comprehensive Plan illustrates how rural identity was defined and plans for preservation of the County’s identity were developed.

Defining Rural Identity Through the Plan

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Author and Copyright Information

Copyright 2002 by author

Scott A. Michie, AICP
Bucher, Willis & Ratliff Corporation
Scott is a Vice President of Bucher, Willis & Ratliff Corporation and the Community Planning Team Leader for the Kansas City, Missouri and St. Louis, Missouri offices. Scott is primarily responsible for managing the preparation of comprehensive plans and development plans for Midwestern communities. He also serves as staff planner for several communities as part of a planning advisory service. Scott has over 25 years of community development planning experience from both the public and private perspectives, including over 10 years of project management experience.

Sean A. Ackerson, AICP
Bucher, Willis & Ratliff Corporation
Sean is a Project Manager for Bucher, Willis & Ratliff Corporation’s Community Planning team in Kansas City, Missouri. Sean is responsible for planning advisory, comprehensive planning, regulatory planning and other planning and design services. He brings urban design and landscape architecture expertise to the comprehensive plan projects, corridor studies and downtown revitalization plans and currently serves as staff planner to several communities in the Kansas City metropolitan area.

Richard Caplan
Richard Caplan & Associates
Rich is the owner and president of Richard Caplan & Associates of Lawrence, Kansas. He has expertise in economic development with over 30 years of experience in both public and private practice throughout the country. Since 1987, his firm has provided economic development consulting services, including performing market studies, strategic planning and economic development analysis, financial analysis, focus groups, consumer surveys, impact studies, structuring public/private partnership agreements and related consulting services to developers, the public sector, redevelopment agencies, chambers of commerce, banks and not-for-profit groups.