How many of us have that proud shelf in your office full of plans and reports? These are the documents that your planning office has spent months if not years completing. You have hired countless talented consultants to assist in these documents. They also probably represent thousands of hours of public participation.
These shelf trophies are a wonderful benchmark, and I assure you the consultants appreciate the work. What are these reports really doing other then filling your shelf, and does anyone else know these reports exist? How many times can you really study, plan, and repeat, before you actually convert a plan into a brick and mortar solution?
Don’t Be a Shelf Filler! Unfortunately, we have all gotten into the habit of creating reports. They can be created through a charrette, or part of a public presentation. The report should only be the beginning of our journey. It is critical that we use these findings to take action. If you are not going to take action, then there really was no purpose in creating the report in the first place.