Research & Publications
Below are links to studies and publications that have been created by Cumberland Region Tomorrow and select partner agencies since our beginning. The documents provide data and information about where the region has been, where it is today and how we can work collaboratively to build future economic vitality while ensuring a high standard quality of life. Documents are available in PDF format.
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Quality Growth Toolbox Pilot Project Report December 7, 2009
Quality Growth and Sustainable Development Implementation Tools and Our Results are Out!
Click here to download the
CRT Quality Growth Toolbox Pilot Project Report and find out what is happening in advancing work toward our top regional issue of
Land Use/Quality Growth and Sustainable Development.
GIS Greenprint Tools for Quality Growth 3.3 January 2010
The CRT
GIS Greenprint Tools for Quality Growth web-based publication and project is a significant part of the Quality Growth Toolbox Pilot Project and was also identified as a needed key regional project in the
Proceedings of the CRT Lincoln Institute for Land Policy Clinic for Regional Collaboration in 2006.
Included as a key regional strategy in the
Conserving Our Region's Land, Water, Natural and Cultural Resources Chapter of the CRT Quality Growth Toolbox, this resource fulfills the need for a regional
GIS based decision making tool tha can be used by local and state government planners to insure access to and knowledge of critical lands for conservation. The information in this report is intended to provide a better basis for decision making as projected impacts and costs of land use and transportation decisions are being made and land resource conservation priorities are included in local and regional plans. Consolidated GIS information can also assist other lead agencies identify and establish land, water, natural and cultural resource priorities and use existing resources for strategic land conservation within the scope of their activities and missions.
Click here to view the publication and GIS mapping tools.
CRT 2009 Survey of Area Leaders: Perceptions on Regional Collaboration and Key Regional Issues Prince Market Research May 2009
Pre-summit research project conducted by Prince Market Research, Dye Van Mol and CRT was a significant part of planning and facilitating the 2009 Convening the Region Summit. The purpose of this research project was to gather information from government, business and community leaders on the following:
- How do people in the ten regional counties actually feel about regional collaboration?
- How important is it for Middle Tennessee communities and governments to work together?
- What are the most important things that make a leader take a more active role in regional collaborations?
Results show that 27% of responding regional leaders and citizens think that Regional Collaboration is working, but 81% say it is a very important Issue; that Regional Opportunities and Crisis/Problems are the top two motivators for regional collaboration; and improving regional Transit Options is the most important focus for Middle Tennessee.
Click here to learn about other top regional issues and other perceptional data. Survey of Area Leaders
CRT 2009 Convening the Region Summit, Charlotte, Austin and Denver Case Study Presentations Mayor Pat McCrory, Brandon Janes, Cal Marsella May 2009
One of the main segments of the 2009 Convening the Region Summit was presentations from Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory, Brandon Janes of Austin and Cal Marsella of Denver.
Click here to view their presentations and see how these progressive regions are collaborating to make regional transit service a reality.
Middle Tennessee AIA, AIA 150 BluePrint for America Reports TK Davis 2007-2008
Blueprint for America is the cornerstone of the AIA's 150th Anniversary Celebration. Intended to inspire communities to come together around architecture, Blueprint provides the opportunity for individuals to collaborate with AIA architects and share their ideas for creating livable communities. Middle Tennessee AIA, University of Tennessee School of Architecture + Design, and CRT hosted our successful BluePrint Project as a part of Quality Growth Toolbox pilot projects in Robertson County/Springfield, Lebanon and Kingston Springs. All national case studies, intended for local officials interested in implementing similar programs, will be accessible through the AIA website, www.aia150.org free of charge. The completed piece, titled a Blueprint for America Mosaic: A Gift to the Nation, was presented by the AIA in 2008. Here are out region's successful project reports.
ROBERTSON COUNTY
On Friday and Saturday, April 27 and 28, 2007, citizens of Robertson County convened in the United Methodist Church in Springfield for a Visioning Workshop on Preserving Rural Land and Revitalizing Town Centers. This was the first of three workshops being convened this year in Middle Tennessee as part of the American Institute of Architects 150 Blueprint for America Initiative. In Middle Tennessee, this A.I.A. program focuses on the challenges communities face undergoing rapid growth. Prior discussion with Robertson County leadership indicated that there existed significant concern over the quality of its growth patterns, and the need to retain its traditional character while undergoing sustainable growth. Robertson County is the first such workshop, with subsequent workshops scheduled for Lebanon and Kingston Springs. There are two essential elements in the A.I.A. Middle Tennessee initiative. The first is to address problems of growth and town centers through the A.I.A.s Ten Principles of Livable Communities, and second, to get A.I.A. architects intensively engaged for a two-day period with the citizens of the three selected communities.
Robertson County Summary Report Presentation
Robertson County Final Report
LEBANON
On Thursday and Friday, August 9 and 10, 2007, citizens of Lebanon, Tennessee convened at Cumberland University's Heydel Fine Arts Center Auditorium for Assessment and Visioning Workshops on Lebanon's Town Center and Its Neighborhoods: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats and The Potential of Transit-Oriented Development in Lebanon. This was the second of three such sets of workshops being convened this year in Middle Tennessee as part of the American Institute of Architects 50 Blueprint for America initiative, which celebrates through community interaction the AIA™'s 50th birthday. In Middle Tennessee, this program focuses on the challenges communities face undergoing rapid growth. Prior discussion with Lebanon public officials indicated that there existed significant concern over the quality of its growth patterns, and the need to retain traditional character while undergoing sustainable growth.
Lebanon Summary Report Presentation
Lebanon Final Report
KINGSTON SPRINGS
On Friday and Saturday, March 14 and 15, 2008, citizens of Kingston Springs, Tennessee convened at Harpeth High School for Community Assessment and Visioning Workshops on Revitalizing the Town Center(s) and Conserving Open Land in Kingston Springs. This was the third of three such sets of workshops being convened in Middle Tennessee as part of the American Institute of Architects 150 Blueprint for America Middle Tennessee Initiative. In Middle Tennessee, this program focuses on the challenges communities face under going rapid growth. Kingston Springs could be characterized as a rural hamlet. There are two essential elements in the AIA Middle Tennessee Initiative. The first is to address the interrelated challenges of revitalizing town centers and conserving open land through the AIA's Ten Principles of Livable Communities, and second to get AIA architects intensively engaged for a two day period with the citizens of the three selected communities-- as grassroots outreach, public awareness, and cultural connectivity.
Kingston Springs Summary Report Presentation
Kingston Springs Final Report
Cumberland Region Tomorrow Quality Growth Toolbox Training & Community Education Tools Bridget Jones, Presentation Aug. 2007
Cumberland Region Tomorrow developed and published one, two and four-hour Quality Growth Toolbox Trainings and 30 minute Community Education presentations for local officials, planning commissions, chamber and economic development organizations, community groups and design professionals. We now offer and award Continuing Education Credit for one, two and four-hour Quality Growth Toolbox sessions through several partner organizations like University of Tennessee IPS/MTAS, APA and Middle Tennessee AIA.
Cumberland Region Tomorrow Quality Growth Toolbox Dec. 2006
Cumberland Region Tomorrow led the development of the Quality Growth Toolbox from 2004 to 2006 with the help of 150+ regional leaders and experts. We released our CRT Quality Growth Toolbox, now Tennessee's premier Quality Growth Strategies, Resources and Tools in December of 2006. Download a copy of the Toolbox. (20.14 MB)
CRT Clinic for Regional Collaboration, Lincoln Institute for Land Policy July 2006
Cumberland Region Tomorrow and Partners Leadership Middle Tennessee and the MTSU Chair for Regional Planning applied for and were selected for one of two 2006 Clinics for Regional Collaboration. The Clinic gathered government, business and non-profit leaders to discuss the opportunities and obstacles for successful regional collaboration in our ten Middle Tennessee counties. Click here to read the full Clinic Report and learn where regional leaders were in our thinking of our potential for successful regionalism and possible first step project efforts to create collaborative thinking and action in 2006.
Robertson County Cost of Community Services Report American Farmland Trust June 2006
The 2005 Robertson County Cost of Community Services Report by the American Farmland Trust, sponsored by TACIR and CRT, was an important part of the Quality Growth Toolbox Project. Results provide CRT region-specific information on the cost of services for Residential, Commercial/Industrial and Farmland uses. Generally results of these studies call for a balanced approach for land-use planning and development decision making that includes an appropriate mix of land uses by the three categories examined. This study is one of three performed in Tennessee, along with 80+ national studies at that time, that can be used by communities to understand the cost of growth decisions and community service cost on a county level scale. Click here to view the full study or a one-page summary for more information.
CRT Report to the Region: Regional Visioning Project Results Oct. 2003
From 2001 to 2003, CRT engaged 500+ residents of our region to define our future growth patterns and create new information from which we can make informed choices about our region's future. Efforts of the Regional Visioning Project produced the following information that is still used to understand our region's choices and opportunities today:
- 20 Year Growth Trend Data
- The Base Case Scenario
- The Alternative Case Scenario
Click here to view the report.
CRT Regional Planning Summit Report Oct. 2003
Regional Planning Summit Proceedings Dec. 1999
The Peirce Reports Neal Peirce 1999
Recognizing the burgeoning trends in our region, a 1999 study sponsored by the Vanderbilt Institute for Public Policy Studies and published in the Tennessean was the impetus for the formation of Cumberland Region Tomorrow. The Peirce Report gathered a broad perspective on the region’s assets and challenges, highlighting possible strategies available to deal with those challenges. A one-day Regional Planning Summit sponsored by Vanderbilt University and the Greater Nashville Regional Council was organized around issues raised by The Peirce Report. Local and national speakers spoke about the current state of the region and shared best practices from other regions faced with similar growth issues.