"Where are you from?" It is a simple question that often marks the beginning of a conversation. The place we call "home" provokes a special meaning. Michiganders are proud of the place they call home and yearn for communities that are vibrant and that refresh the inner spirit. Yet traffic congestion, sprawl, urban decay, and the loss of open space and farmland threaten the fabric of many communities.

In Michigan, more than 26,000 local elected and appointed officials are called upon to create a sense of place by making important decisions to guide the growth and development of their communities. However, issues surrounding land use planning and regulation, and the tools and techniques available within Michigan to address them, have become increasingly complex.

The Michigan Land Use Leadership Council (MLULC) in its 2003 final report recommended that 60 percent of all appointed planning and zoning officials participate in land use education programs within one year of appointment by 2010. Yet administrating educational programs to more than 14,000 planning officials in Michigan is a daunting task.

In response, the MSU Land Policy Institute has launched programs and resources to address this need. One example is the Citizen Planner program, developed to address the basic, ongoing education needs of citizens appointed to serve on local land use planning bodies. In five years, the seven-week short course has trained more than 3,000 planning officials representing nearly every county in Michigan.

A cornerstone of Citizen Planner training is its partnership with other organizations to cultivate global thinkers who skillfully manage development patterns in Michigan and nationally to ensure that our communities and regions are great places to live, yet competitive in the new economy.

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