TENNESSEE RIVERLINE LAUNCHES COMMUNITY PLANNING INITIATIVE
Two-year initiative will facilitate community engagement and identify priority placemaking projects for participating communities along the Tennessee RiverLine
The Tennessee RiverLine is thrilled to introduce the launch of our Community Planning Initiative (CPI)! The Community Planning Initiative offers an opportunity for the Tennessee RiverLine team to help communities along the 652-mile reach of the Tennessee River understand strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and aspirations relative to their relationship with the river. Through a multi-phased process residents and leaders of participating communities will be engaged through interactive activities to identify placemaking projects and tangible next steps toward making those aspirations a reality. This initiative is made possible by funding through the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Placemaking Innovation Challenge in qualifying rural communities, as well as through the generous support of 3M Decatur with funds from the 3M Foundation, and the Tennessee RiverLine’s principal partners, Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) and the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.
“The Tennessee RiverLine Community Planning Initiative will bring capacity, expertise and resources to the participating communities and help empower them to transform their relationship with their most valuable natural and cultural resource: the Tennessee River,” said Brad Collett, Tennessee RiverLine director and associate professor in UTK’s Herbert College of Agriculture and College of Architecture and Design. “Funding from the USDA, 3M, and our principal partners in support of this initiative expands the Tennessee RiverLine’s capacity to extend support to communities that may not otherwise have planning and design capacity or access to programming resources.”
Communities participating in Phase I and II of the CPI include Decatur, Guntersville and Huntsville in Alabama; Calvert City, Kentucky; and Hardin County and Clifton, Tennessee. Communities that have already completed Phase I and will be entering Phase II in the fall alongside these six communities include Roane County, Tennessee; The Shoals and Bridgeport, Alabama; and Paducah, Kentucky.
Each of these participating communities is enrolled in the Tennessee RiverLine’s Tennessee RiverTowns Program, a multi-year framework for collaboration among enrolled communities and Tennessee RiverLine staff to realize the vision for North America’s next great regional trail system. The Community Planning Initiative is specifically designed to engage Tennessee RiverTowns communities and strengthen collaborative progress across the region toward that shared vision.
Phase I: 652 to YOU Program
Phase I of the CPI, which will take place this summer, begins with a public engagement program called 652 to YOU, through which the Tennessee RiverLine team will travel to participating communities to facilitate engagement activities with community residents and leaders. A series of purposefully designed events and interactive planning activities, 652 to YOU is an opportunity for community leaders and residents to provide feedback about existing recreation experiences and infrastructure on or along the river, while also sharing ideas for their improvement and expansion through new investments.
“Tennessee River communities are the beating heart of the Tennessee RiverLine, and we are excited to work alongside our local partners to help them articulate a local vision for North America’s next great regional trail system while realizing the Tennessee River’s unmet potentials for economic development, public health, equitable access and resource stewardship in their community,” said Collett.
The results of the 652 to YOU program will include a list of recommendations for how the community’s collective aspirations related to the Tennessee RiverLine can be achieved. Placemaking project opportunities will also be identified based on the community’s shared vision for their section of the Tennessee RiverLine, which could include new riverfront parks, campsites and access points, connective trails and greenways, and other asset-based infrastructure investments.
Phase II: Placemaking Project Planning and Design
Once the Tennessee RiverLine’s community partners have facilitated their 652 to YOU community engagement events this summer and identified placemaking project opportunities later this year, they will enter Phase II of the CPI. During this pivotal phase in 2023, the Tennessee RiverLine team will develop a conceptual design, a funding strategy, and grant application materials for a single priority placemaking project in each participating community. These materials can then be used by community partners to build public support and make progress toward project implementation.
“Our work with Tennessee RiverLine will help our neighbors enjoy the Tennessee River, enhance community vibrancy, and help ensure a more interconnected region. We’re honored to support this work and look forward to seeing what’s next for our area,” said Michelle Howell, site leader of 3M Decatur. “3M works to create opportunity and deliver for our people and our customers – and that applies to building communities where we live and operate in north Alabama and the Tennessee Valley.”
“Incredible things happen when communities come together to dream, discuss and design their futures. The Community Planning Initiative is one of the many, outstanding benefits of the 652 to YOU program,” said Allen Clare, Vice President of River and Resources Stewardship at Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). “As principal partners of the Tennessee RiverLine, we congratulate this year’s participating communities and look forward to seeing the positive impacts of their efforts realized.”
How to Get Involved
Interested in sharing your ideas for the Tennessee RiverLine with your local community? We welcome and encourage you to participate in a 652 to YOU program near you! Each 652 to YOU program across the region will feature a multi-day series of events, to include the following activities that are designed for public participation:
River Activity: a community activity such as a community paddle event or river cleanup that invites participants to engage with the Tennessee River
Community Engagement Event(s): community engagement activities that may include interactive asset mapping, scenario planning, roundtable discussions, and more.
Attend one or all of the 652 to YOU events in a participating community near you on the following dates:
Calvert City, Kentucky: June 9-10 (sponsored by the USDA, UT Knoxville and TVA)
Clifton, Tennessee: June 23-25 (sponsored by the USDA, UT Knoxville and TVA)
Decatur, Alabama: July 9-12 (sponsored by 3M Foundation, 3M Decatur, UT Knoxville and TVA)
Huntsville, Alabama: July 27-29 (sponsored by TVA and UT Knoxville)
Guntersville, Alabama: August 4-6 (sponsored by the USDA, UT Knoxville and TVA)
Hardin County, Tennessee: August 18-20 (sponsored by the USDA, UT Knoxville and TVA)
Be sure to follow the Tennessee RiverLine on social media for important details and to stay in the know about upcoming events near you! For more information regarding upcoming 652 to YOU CPI events, visit tnriverline.org/events or contact info@tnriverline.org.
About the Tennessee RiverLine
The Tennessee RiverLine is North America’s next great regional trail system, a historic multi-generational initiative that offers economic development, public health, resource stewardship and equitable access benefits to 2.4 million people in diverse Tennessee River communities in four states. The Tennessee RiverLine is led by the UT School of Landscape Architecture, which is a partnership of the UT College of Architecture and Design and the Herbert College of Agriculture, and principal partners, UT Knoxville and TVA, in collaboration with the Tennessee RiverLine Partnership, a diverse consortium of organizations committed to realizing the vision for the Tennessee RiverLine.
About the USDA Rural Placemaking Innovation Challenge
The Rural Placemaking Innovation Challenge is a cooperative agreement for eligible entities to help provide planning support, technical assistance and training to foster placemaking activities in rural communities. Cooperative agreement resources may be used to help rural communities create plans to enhance capacity for broadband access; preserve cultural and historic structures; and support the development of transportation, housing, and recreational spaces.
About the 3M Foundation
At 3M, we apply science in collaborative ways to improve lives daily as our employees connect with customers all around the world. Learn more about 3M's creative solutions to global challenges at www.3M.com or on Twitter @3M or @3MNews.
Contact: info@tnriverline.org