Welcome to the Collaborative Planning Website!

The Smarter Land Use Project, after more than twelve years of philanthropically funded research has discovered that 1) the deeper the trust between people whose lives are affected by a proposed project (developer, government official, local resident, environmentalist, planner, etc.), the better the ideas for planning and achieving a profitable, sustainable, community-building project; 2) building trust involves making friends with another person who has a stake in the project ... a person whom you wish you could trust; and 3) it's a process that is easier than you think because people generally like to have friends and like to be trustworthy.

Community strength is a function of trust. Decisions are more sustaining and beneficial to all stakeholders when they are made in an atmosphere of trust. Each proposed decision is an opportunity to make new friends and to improve trust. When the primary focus of discussions is on building trust, defensiveness gives way to creative, productive collaboration. When you make the phone call to a project stakeholder whom you don't know or don't trust, and suggest getting to know each other so that you can work better together, the other person will usually appreciate the idea and accept your invitation if they feel that improved trust will benefit them as well. When you get together, be sure to focus on making friends ... try not to talk about the proposed project. The deeper your friendship before you bring up the proposed project, the better the ideas that you will get and the better the decisions that you will make.

The primary emphasis of Karl Kehde's research is to find a way to redirect the wasteful energy of confrontation to creative problem solving. To do the research, Karl has already participated in more than 500 meetings between local residents, developers, planning officials, and environmental groups on upwards of 50 proposed projects across the United States.

The major benfits of this collaborative planning process are as follows:

• New problem solving ideas beneficial to all stakeholders are revealed.
• Community-enhancing features are added to each proposed project.
• Residents adjacent to the proposed project gain an improved sense of safety and community.
• No outside facilitator is used.
• As stakeholder trust improves, the permitting process becomes less aggravating, more efficient, and with less litigation.

Download or listen now to two free podcasts: Why So Much Distrust (8 min) and How to Trust (11 min). These are excerpts from Karl Kehde's discussion with community leaders in Steamboat Springs on May 5, 2008. Email Karl with your comments or questions.

Is a proposed change in land use causing aggravation in your neighborhood or community? The Collaborative Land Use Planning Guidebook, which may be downloaded free without the CD or purchased here or from Amazon for $29, can help you set up a process for improving trust among stakeholders and upgrading the proposed project to include community-enhancing features. The collaborative planning process detailed in the guidebook can be particularly effective when there is confrontation between stakeholders.