Breach the Wall of Separation
On how to breach the wall of separation that too often separates planning and school boards.
Elaine Cogan, founding principal of the Portland, Oregon planning and communications firm of Cogan Owens Cogan, has consulted for more than 36 years with communities undertaking strategic planning and visioning processes. Elaine has been honored for her work on a variety of citizen involvement projects, including “Complete Communities for Clackamas County,” which received the American Planning Association's 2002 Public Education Award.
Between 1991 and 2009, her “The Effective Planning Commissioner” column ran in the Planning Commissioners Journal. All of her past columns (along with her new ones) are available here on PlannersWeb.com.
On how to breach the wall of separation that too often separates planning and school boards.
Elaine Cogan looks at ways of evaluating your planning board’s effectiveness.
How can you strengthen community involvement in planning after you’ve completed work on updating your comprehensive plan, when there’s no “hot issue” on the table?
How much thought goes into your planning board’s agenda? A look at ways of improving your meeting agenda.
PCJ columnist Elaine Cogan on the value of diversity in planning board membership.
Why it’s important for planning commissioners to look behind the pretty pictures, and beyond the enticing words, of polished presentations.
Elaine Cogan takes a look at several ways of reaching out to the citizens of your community for whom English is not their first language.
PCJ columnist Elaine Cogan reflects on ways in which planning has changed over the past ten years.
PCJ columnist Elaine Cogan takes a look at three valuable traits of an effective planning commissioner: patience, persistence, and passion.
Columnist Elaine Cogan on what to do to prevent minor irritants from becoming major problems.
Ways in which you can tap the passion and enthusiasm of your constituents for the planning process.
Elaine Cogan looks at how a shopping mall became the location for a creative planning event.
A quick look at ways in which planning boards can obtain public feedback besides through a formal public hearing process