Plan Making Process
Below is the general process that TxTC follows while working with our communities. The typical comprehensive planning process takes six to nine months to ensure thorough and high quality deliverables.
1. Organize
Gather a team of three to five core team members who has the responsibility of implementing the project once complete. The core team can devote time weekly and is willing to direct and engage the community.
2. Connect
Increase community capacity by engaging a task force of eight to 12 local stakeholders who are trusted leaders and important points of connection, especially those with a mission to provide a safety net to the most vulnerable citizens of a community. To get a complete and broader scope of community needs, TxTC actively seeks out a diverse group of residents that can dedicate varying amounts of time, talent, and treasure.
3. Assess
Collect pertinent data to be used as the foundation of decision making going forward:
- Description of the community issue(s) the project will address
- Evidence of the causes and extent of the problem(s)
4. Envision
Interactively engage the public and task force to envision an ideal future for the community.
5. Prioritize
With community feedback, students and faculty explore a range of recommendations based on promising practices. Together, the university and community identify and prioritize recommendations within plans as goals, objectives, actions, and policies, or design recommendations.
6. Implement
Students, faculty, and staff specify recommended policy changes and practices, along with an annotated timeline, financing opportunities, and responsible action leaders, which directly builds on previously identified promising practices.
7. Monitor, Evaluate, Update
Gather feedback to continue learning and adapting to different conditions and communities.
Additional information regarding these processes can be found in our book Planning for Community Resilience. This book outlines our inclusive process for developing disaster-resilient communities based on recovery work done in Galveston, Texas, after Hurricane Ike.