planners and broadband

Broadband and Sustainable CommunitiesERIC FREDERICK, AICP, LEED APVICE PRESIDENT FOR COMMUNITY AFFAIRS, CONNECTED NATION

planners love to plan…everything

E r i c Fr e d e r i c k A I C P , L E E D A P : V P f o r C o m m u n i t y A ff a i r s : e f r e d e r i c k @ c o n n e c t e d n a t i o n . o r g : w w w. c o n n e c t m y c o m m u n i t y. o r g

travel demandbridges

bike paths

workforce development open spacewater main replacement

thanks to plannerspointing.tumblr.com for the images

yet why is there never a picture of a planner like…


thanks to plannerspointing.tumblr.com for the images

and the new fiber route will

cross the highway, here.

getting planners

involved with broadband

contextConnected Nation, non-profit dedicated to expanding broadband access, adoption, and use. Core competencies include: Network mapping, validation, and analysis Residential and business adoption research Local, state, and national policy analysis and

capacity building Worked in 14 states during the State Broadband

Initiative (SBI) funded by the NTIA Community technology planning

Connected Community Engagement Program (Connected) Established and field validated effort to facilitate the

expansion of broadband and technology at a local level

171

126

Communities actively engaged across Michigan, Ohio, Tennessee, Nevada, South Carolina, Texas, and Iowa.

Local technology action plans delivered


topics1. Data-driven community planning2. Removing barriers/what you can do3. Story time


data-driven community technology planning

Simplistic planning process Engage and listen Gather data Synthesize/ find the

gaps Plan accordingly

Comprehensive plan data Census information (age, income,

mobility, educational attainment, etc. Land use patterns Traffic counts Infrastructure availability (water, sewer,

transportation, etc.) Natural features (vegetation, slope,

impervious surface, etc.)

Planners are Facilitators Public input specialists Data nerds (most of

the time)


data-driven community technology planning

USEAgricultur

eEconomic Prosperity

Talent/ Workforce

Govern-ment

Health-care Higher Ed. K-12 Ed. Libraries Public

Safety Tourism

ADOPTIONDigital Literacy Public Computers Home Adoption Affordability Freq. of Use

ACCESSAvailability Speed Competition Platform

Dependency Middle Mile MobileENGAGE

ASSESS

PLAN

PROMOTE


data-driven community technology planningWhile data on broadband/technology access, adoption, and use isn’t always readily available, conducting surveys and using non-traditional data sources can provide a snapshot of your community Access Adoption Use


1. Get to know your local/county broadband providers

2. Incorporate broadband data in your local or regional Geographic Information System

3. Coordinate and/or help promote technology training events with local libraries, schools, economic development entities, and others

4. Review local regulations and consider amending barriers to broadband deployment (e.g. towers, colocation, ROW, microtrenching, conduit, fees, permits, etc.)

5. Include broadband access as part of

the site plan review process6. Review the use of technology by the

local government and consider improving online access to services and information

7. Utilize social media, email, and electronic voting

8. Start a local broadband planning effort or participate in efforts taking place across the state

9. Conduct a vertical asset inventory 10. Coordinate with other community

entities that may own infrastructure Think "big-picture" and long term

removing barriers/what you can do


story timeOgemaw County, MI• Rural area of central Michigan• Trouble getting rural areas

connected• County economic

development corporation undertaking project to locate and map vertical assets in rural areas as a means to expand wireless internet

• Looking to catalog agricultural assets including elevators, silos, water towers, etc.

Washtenaw and Jackson Cos., MI• Rural townships and

neighborhoods struggled with high demand, but no infrastructure expansion

• Formed a non-profit organization to work to expand broadband access

• Conducted surveys to aggregate demand and identify barriers

• 92% of those surveyed wanted more choices

• Want to construct fiber network and lease to a carrier for operation

Harbor Springs, MI (HarborActive)• Rural, dispersed, and often

seasonal population• Wants to improve the

digital literacy of the community

• Developed their own training program to train groups of all types on the latest technology including social media, tablets, website development, etc.

• Wine and Web (most popular)

West Central, MI • Rural area with a need to

expand economic development

• Instead of focusing on attracting new businesses, programs aimed at retaining, growing, and sustaining those already in the community

• MichiganWorks office conducting training programs to get more businesses online with social media and websites


“As a regional planning organization this issue is right in our wheelhouse…I would compare it to the challenge of regional public transportation.”“…broadband has become a critical component in a community's ability to achieve economic expansion, improved educational opportunities, more efficient government, and in general an overall increased quality of life. But I wasn’t sure how to move forward.”“Because broadband continually ranks as a top 5 priority project/issue area in our Regional Comprehensive Economic Development Strategies.”“In order to be at all competitive in the global knowledge economy the region must have access to high-speed internet at all levels”

straight from the planner’s mouth:why did you get involved in broadband planning?


“The ability to design a robust process…inclusiveness and stakeholder engagement is hugely important. Planners understand how infrastructure fits into community-building.”“The ability to plan, run, and follow-up after a meeting.”“Ability to think regionally, bring together varied groups of stakeholders, run and facilitate public meetings to discuss issue areas, and ability to develop strategic measures and outcomes.”“Partnership building, community survey development/ implementation/analysis, communication, and writing”

straight from the planner’s mouth:what planning related skills are most useful?


“Lack of funding. We have a lot of communities we need to work with. At that scale it is difficult to ground-truth data and to genuinely identify all the gaps in coverage.”“Keeping momentum.““Managing misinformation, and education is necessary so that Planning Commissioners realize the importance of broadband to our rural areas.”“In rural communities, especially in areas where former urban residents retired in rural areas, getting locals to understand that it does take time for implementation.”

straight from the planner’s mouth:what were some of the challenges you faced?


“Be prepared to do your homework on how a broadband network operates.”

“Gather stakeholders in the beginning, and then reassemble the group to create priorities.”

A diversified planning group will help identify more resources,Get to know your broadband providers. Invite them to your meetings. Consider asking each to give a 5 minute presentation at one of your first meetings. They can be a good resource.“Educate yourself. Know the laws which apply to broadband providers. Work hard to bring the service providers together with local governments, businesses, schools, libraries, and any others interested in broadband for their community.”

straight from the planner’s mouth:what advice do you have for other planners?

“Broadband is a very different animal compared to land use planning, zoning and/ or community development, it is not for the faint of heart, you will take many steps blindly but in the end, I believe our efforts were both necessary and successful in order to move the needle on broadband accessibility and availability in our region.”


in summaryWhy: broadband is a critical component in a community's ability to increase quality of life, right in a planner’s wheelhouse. Necessary to be competitive in the global knowledge economy

How: stakeholder engagement, inclusiveness, consensus building, data gathering, facilitation, convening, partnership building, and strategic measurement and outcomes

Issues: funding, momentum, education, understanding, implementation, scale, misinformation

Advice: seek collaboration and diversity, educate yourself, know your providers, find neutral advocates and experts, be confident

Thanks to:Jeff Hagan – ED, Eastern Upper Peninsula Planning and Development Commission (Michigan Association of Planning Board Member)

Tammy Doernenburg – Zoning Admin., Emmet CountyRyan Soucy – Assoc. Planner, Southwest Michigan Planning Commission

John Egelhaaf – ED, Southwest Michigan Planning Commission

Lori Eschenburg – Planner, St. Clair County Metropolitan Planning Commission

Dan Massy – Comm. Dev. Dir., Osceola CountyThyra Karlstrom – Planner, Marquette CountyJan Kellogg – Economic Developer, Northern Lakes Economic Alliance

Diane Rekowski – ED, Northeast Michigan Council of Governments

Jane Fitzpatrick – Econ. & Comm. Dev. Coord., East Michigan Council of Governments (Michigan Association of Planning Past President)


Questions?ERIC FREDERICK, AICP, LEED APVICE PRESIDENT FOR COMMUNITY AFFAIRS, CONNECTED NATION


planners and broadband

Technology