This document describes the Mid-Atlantic Regional Planning Roundtable process, which began in 2005 as a way to coordinate regional planning across broader regions and states. It has since expanded participation and aims to address issues like transportation, hazard mitigation, and infrastructure from a regional perspective. The roundtable also discusses using regional councils as the unit for comparative multi-county regional analysis over time to better inform planning.

1. A Mid-Atlantic Overview – The Roundtable Process
April 20, 2009
Tom Christoffel, AICP, Editor
Regional Community Development News

2. Traditional Mid-Atlantic Map
States, Major Cities & Connecting Highways

3. New View – States, County & Multi-County Regions

4. Roundtable I – October 21, 2005 - Middletown,
Virginia - Northern Shenandoah Valley
• Northern Shenandoah Valley Regional
Commission response to Wash COG 2030
projections
– Impacts perceived of continued growth
– Strong impact since 9/11
– Region may not want to continue to supply labor and
be affordable housing solution
– Other outlying regions interested in the conversation
– Why were we concerned about the Mid-Atlantic?

5. Area – Roundtable I
Begin looking at the Mid-Atlantic as Regions
This is where we started

6. Super-Region Label - Issue Areas
• Multi-State Transportation Corridors - 9/340/I-81/270/I-95/
• Hazard mitigation
• Metro Evacuation
• Homeland Security
• Air Quality
• Water - ground and surface (ICPRB)
• Vision/Scenario/Alternatives (from a local region process related to
those in other regions)
• Infrastructure
• Broadband
• Regional Policy
• No new bypasses in metro region puts more pressure on existing
roads.
• Freight & Multi-modal/multi-state freight/rail and ports
• Labor chain - everyone imports labor from outside their region - no
surplus of labor even at the fringes

7. Roundtable II – Expanded Area
Co-sponsors – NARC, NADO, AMPO
Location – Washington, D.C.

8. Roundtable III – Baltimore
Participation area grows –
NARC, NADO & AMPO Co-sponsor

9. County to County Work-
flows: 2000 CTPP
Region to Region work flow like WILMAPCO

10. Roundtable 4 – Fredericksburg
- November, 2007
• Regional and Intergovernmental Planning
Division, American Planning Association and
State Chapters work with Regional Councils for
the Mid-Atlantic Regional Planning Roundtable
as a model for the U.S.
• Regional level recognized as a level or
coordination needed for smart growth with the
participation of Governor Parris Glendenning.
• Mid-Atlantic Regional planning analysis
prepared with region coding I developed.

12. % change – provides a different picture.

13. 2005 Population density by region.

14. Loss of
countryside –
viewshed? Region
land area less
Federal and State
Lands – including
Urban Areas

15. Overall density in 2005 drops when Urban areas pulled out – with
time series we could see better the sprawls as build out occurs.

16. Consider Regional Councils as a
Unit of Analytical Geography
• This could be extended to the U.S. to enable
comparative multi-county regional analysis over time on
standard regional geography.
• It can adapt to many levels of multi-jurisdictional
planning.

17. The Mid-Atlantic Regional Planning Roundtable
is a means to coordinate regional planning
at broader scales – the Mega Region and
Interstate Corridor.
Shameless Plug:
Please consider joining the I-95 Corridor
Regional and Intergovernmental
Planning Division,
American Planning Association

18. Local Planet Contact Information
“Think Local Planet, Act Regionally.”
Contact
Tom Christoffel, AICP, Editor, Regional Community Development
News
Regional Intelligence – Regional Communities, LLC
Box 1444
Front Royal, Virginia (VA), USA 22630
E-mail: Tom.Christoffel@gmail.com
Phone: 1- 540-635-8582
Blog: http://regional-communities.blogspot.com/
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