Presentation give at the American Planning Association National Planning Conference in 2016 in Phoenix, Arizona.

1. Broadband and
Sustainable
Communities
ERIC FREDERICK, AICP, LEED AP
VICE PRESIDENT FOR COMMUNITY AFFAIRS, CONNECTED NATION

2. planners love to plan…everything
E r i c F r e d e r i c k A I C P , L E E D A P : V P f o r C o m m u n i t y A f f a i r s : e f r e d e r i c k @ c o n n e c t e d n a t i o n . o r g : w w w . c o n n e c t m y c o m m u n i t y . o r g
travel demandbridges
bike paths
workforce development open space
water main replacement
thanks to plannerspointing.tumblr.com for the images

3. yet why is there never a picture of a planner like…
E r i c F r e d e r i c k A I C P , L E E D A P : V P f o r C o m m u n i t y A f f a i r s : e f r e d e r i c k @ c o n n e c t e d n a t i o n . o r g : w w w . c o n n e c t m y c o m m u n i t y . o r g
thanks to plannerspointing.tumblr.com for the images
and the new fiber
route will cross
the highway, here.
getting
planners
involved with
broadband

4. context
Connected Nation, non-profit dedicated to
expanding broadband access, adoption, and use.
Core competencies include:
 Network mapping, validation, and analysis
 Residential and business adoption research
 Local, state, and national policy analysis and capacity
building
 Worked in 14 states during the State Broadband
Initiative (SBI) funded by the NTIA
 Community technology planning
 Connected Community Engagement Program (Connected)
 Established and field validated effort to facilitate the expansion of
broadband and technology at a local level
171
126
Communities actively
engaged across
Michigan, Ohio,
Tennessee, Nevada,
South Carolina, Texas,
and Iowa.
Local technology action
plans delivered
E r i c F r e d e r i c k A I C P , L E E D A P : V P f o r C o m m u n i t y A f f a i r s : e f r e d e r i c k @ c o n n e c t e d n a t i o n . o r g : w w w . c o n n e c t m y c o m m u n i t y . o r g

5. topics
1. Data-driven community planning
2. Removing barriers/what you can do
3. Story time
E r i c F r e d e r i c k A I C P , L E E D A P : V P f o r C o m m u n i t y A f f a i r s : e f r e d e r i c k @ c o n n e c t e d n a t i o n . o r g : w w w . c o n n e c t m y c o m m u n i t y . o r g

6. data-driven community technology
planning
Simplistic planning
process
 Engage and listen
 Gather data
 Synthesize/ find the gaps
 Plan accordingly
Comprehensive plan data
 Census information (age, income, mobility,
educational attainment, etc.
 Land use patterns
 Traffic counts
 Infrastructure availability (water, sewer,
transportation, etc.)
 Natural features (vegetation, slope, impervious
surface, etc.)
Planners are
 Facilitators
 Public input specialists
 Data nerds (most of the
time)
E r i c F r e d e r i c k A I C P , L E E D A P : V P f o r C o m m u n i t y A f f a i r s : e f r e d e r i c k @ c o n n e c t e d n a t i o n . o r g : w w w . c o n n e c t m y c o m m u n i t y . o r g

7. data-driven community technology
planning
USE
Agriculture
Economic
Prosperity
Talent/
Workforce
Govern-
ment
Health-care Higher Ed. K-12 Ed. Libraries
Public
Safety
Tourism
ADOPTION
Digital Literacy Public Computers Home Adoption Affordability Freq. of Use
ACCESS
Availability Speed Competition
Platform
Dependency
Middle Mile Mobile
ENGAGE
ASSESS
PLAN
PROMOTE
E r i c F r e d e r i c k A I C P , L E E D A P : V P f o r C o m m u n i t y A f f a i r s : e f r e d e r i c k @ c o n n e c t e d n a t i o n . o r g : w w w . c o n n e c t m y c o m m u n i t y . o r g

8. data-driven community technology
planning
While data on broadband/technology access, adoption, and use isn’t always readily available, conducting surveys
and using non-traditional data sources can provide a snapshot of your community
Access Adoption Use
E r i c F r e d e r i c k A I C P , L E E D A P : V P f o r C o m m u n i t y A f f a i r s : e f r e d e r i c k @ c o n n e c t e d n a t i o n . o r g : w w w . c o n n e c t m y c o m m u n i t y . o r g

9. 1. Get to know your local/county broadband
providers
2. Incorporate broadband data in your local or
regional Geographic Information System
3. Coordinate and/or help promote technology
training events with local libraries, schools,
economic development entities, and others
4. Review local regulations and consider
amending barriers to broadband
deployment (e.g. towers, colocation, ROW,
microtrenching, conduit, fees, permits, etc.)
5. Include broadband access as part of the site
plan review process
6. Review the use of technology by the local
government and consider improving online
access to services and information
7. Utilize social media, email, and electronic
voting
8. Start a local broadband planning effort or
participate in efforts taking place across the
state
9. Conduct a vertical asset inventory
10. Coordinate with other community entities
that may own infrastructure Think "big-
picture" and long term
removing barriers/what you can do
E r i c F r e d e r i c k A I C P , L E E D A P : V P f o r C o m m u n i t y A f f a i r s : e f r e d e r i c k @ c o n n e c t e d n a t i o n . o r g : w w w . c o n n e c t m y c o m m u n i t y . o r g

10. story time
Ogemaw County, MI
• Rural area of central Michigan
• Trouble getting rural areas
connected
• County economic development
corporation undertaking project
to locate and map vertical assets
in rural areas as a means to
expand wireless internet
• Looking to catalog agricultural
assets including elevators, silos,
water towers, etc.
Washtenaw and Jackson Cos., MI
• Rural townships and
neighborhoods struggled with
high demand, but no
infrastructure expansion
• Formed a non-profit organization
to work to expand broadband
access
• Conducted surveys to aggregate
demand and identify barriers
• 92% of those surveyed wanted
more choices
• Want to construct fiber network
and lease to a carrier for
operation
Harbor Springs, MI
(HarborActive)
• Rural, dispersed, and often
seasonal population
• Wants to improve the digital
literacy of the community
• Developed their own training
program to train groups of all
types on the latest technology
including social media, tablets,
website development, etc.
• Wine and Web (most popular)
West Central, MI
• Rural area with a need to
expand economic development
• Instead of focusing on attracting
new businesses, programs
aimed at retaining, growing, and
sustaining those already in the
community
• MichiganWorks office
conducting training programs to
get more businesses online with
social media and websites
E r i c F r e d e r i c k A I C P , L E E D A P : V P f o r C o m m u n i t y A f f a i r s : e f r e d e r i c k @ c o n n e c t e d n a t i o n . o r g : w w w . c o n n e c t m y c o m m u n i t y . o r g

11. “As a regional planning organization this issue is right in our wheelhouse…I
would compare it to the challenge of regional public transportation.”
“…broadband has become a critical component in a community's ability to
achieve economic expansion, improved educational opportunities, more
efficient government, and in general an overall increased quality of life. But I
wasn’t sure how to move forward.”
“Because broadband continually ranks as a top 5 priority project/issue area in
our Regional Comprehensive Economic Development Strategies.”
“In order to be at all competitive in the global knowledge economy the region
must have access to high-speed internet at all levels”
straight from the planner’s mouth:
why did you get involved in broadband planning?
E r i c F r e d e r i c k A I C P , L E E D A P : V P f o r C o m m u n i t y A f f a i r s : e f r e d e r i c k @ c o n n e c t e d n a t i o n . o r g : w w w . c o n n e c t m y c o m m u n i t y . o r g

12. “The ability to design a robust process…inclusiveness and
stakeholder engagement is hugely important. Planners
understand how infrastructure fits into community-building.”
“The ability to plan, run, and follow-up after a meeting.”
“Ability to think regionally, bring together varied groups of
stakeholders, run and facilitate public meetings to discuss issue
areas, and ability to develop strategic measures and outcomes.”
“Partnership building, community survey development/
implementation/analysis, communication, and writing”
straight from the planner’s mouth:
what planning related skills are most useful?
E r i c F r e d e r i c k A I C P , L E E D A P : V P f o r C o m m u n i t y A f f a i r s : e f r e d e r i c k @ c o n n e c t e d n a t i o n . o r g : w w w . c o n n e c t m y c o m m u n i t y . o r g

13. “Lack of funding. We have a lot of communities we need to
work with. At that scale it is difficult to ground-truth data
and to genuinely identify all the gaps in coverage.”
“Keeping momentum.“
“Managing misinformation, and education is necessary so that
Planning Commissioners realize the importance of
broadband to our rural areas.”
“In rural communities, especially in areas where former urban
residents retired in rural areas, getting locals to understand
that it does take time for implementation.”
straight from the planner’s mouth:
what were some of the challenges you faced?
E r i c F r e d e r i c k A I C P , L E E D A P : V P f o r C o m m u n i t y A f f a i r s : e f r e d e r i c k @ c o n n e c t e d n a t i o n . o r g : w w w . c o n n e c t m y c o m m u n i t y . o r g

14. “Be prepared to do your homework on how a broadband network
operates.”
“Gather stakeholders in the beginning, and then reassemble the
group to create priorities.”
A diversified planning group will help identify more resources,
Get to know your broadband providers. Invite them to your
meetings. Consider asking each to give a 5 minute presentation at
one of your first meetings. They can be a good resource.
“Educate yourself. Know the laws which apply to broadband
providers. Work hard to bring the service providers together with
local governments, businesses, schools, libraries, and any others
interested in broadband for their community.”
straight from the planner’s mouth:
what advice do you have for other planners?
“Broadband is a very different
animal compared to land use
planning, zoning and/ or community
development, it is not for the faint of
heart, you will take many steps
blindly but in the end, I believe our
efforts were both necessary and
successful in order to move the
needle on broadband accessibility
and availability in our region.”
E r i c F r e d e r i c k A I C P , L E E D A P : V P f o r C o m m u n i t y A f f a i r s : e f r e d e r i c k @ c o n n e c t e d n a t i o n . o r g : w w w . c o n n e c t m y c o m m u n i t y . o r g

15. in summary
Why: broadband is a critical component in a
community's ability to increase quality of life, right in
a planner’s wheelhouse. Necessary to be competitive
in the global knowledge economy
How: stakeholder engagement, inclusiveness,
consensus building, data gathering, facilitation,
convening, partnership building, and strategic
measurement and outcomes
Issues: funding, momentum, education,
understanding, implementation, scale, misinformation
Advice: seek collaboration and diversity, educate
yourself, know your providers, find neutral advocates
and experts, be confident
Thanks to:
Jeff Hagan – ED, Eastern Upper Peninsula Planning and Development
Commission (Michigan Association of Planning Board Member)
Tammy Doernenburg – Zoning Admin., Emmet County
Ryan Soucy – Assoc. Planner, Southwest Michigan Planning
Commission
John Egelhaaf – ED, Southwest Michigan Planning Commission
Lori Eschenburg – Planner, St. Clair County Metropolitan Planning
Commission
Dan Massy – Comm. Dev. Dir., Osceola County
Thyra Karlstrom – Planner, Marquette County
Jan Kellogg – Economic Developer, Northern Lakes Economic Alliance
Diane Rekowski – ED, Northeast Michigan Council of Governments
Jane Fitzpatrick – Econ. & Comm. Dev. Coord., East Michigan Council
of Governments (Michigan Association of Planning Past President)
E r i c F r e d e r i c k A I C P , L E E D A P : V P f o r C o m m u n i t y A f f a i r s : e f r e d e r i c k @ c o n n e c t e d n a t i o n . o r g : w w w . c o n n e c t m y c o m m u n i t y . o r g

16. Questions?
ERIC FREDERICK, AICP, LEED AP
VICE PRESIDENT FOR COMMUNITY AFFAIRS, CONNECTED NATION
E r i c F r e d e r i c k A I C P , L E E D A P : V P f o r C o m m u n i t y A f f a i r s : e f r e d e r i c k @ c o n n e c t e d n a t i o n . o r g : w w w . c o n n e c t m y c o m m u n i t y . o r g