CCOG U: Planner Training Series

Introduced in 2018, the CCOG U: Planner Training Series provides opportunities for the region’s planners and others to learn about topics that support and champion our region’s communities and improve the overall health and resilience of the greater Charlotte region.

In its third year, Centralina Regional Council will host the 2020 CCOG U: Planner Training Series comprised of six (6) training sessions to cover a few of the 'hottest' planning topics in the greater Charlotte region that align with one or more of the 10 CONNECT Our Future priorities.

We invite you to sign-up for individual sessions or the full 2020 Planners Training Series and receive a discount.

And new this year, Centralina Regional Council will be offering a second CCOG U track focused on other topics relevant to government staff and board members. For general government track information and registration, please visit here.

Registration Cost:

We are excited to serve our communities by providing accessible and high-quality professional development opportunities for local government staff and elected officials in our region. As an added benefit of Centralina Regional Council membership, we are offering a discounted rate on Planning Track sessions. If you are an elected official, member government staff or staff affiliated with or funded by a member government (i.e. MPOs, RPOs), then you qualify for these member benefits.

Centralina Member Registration: (refer to Current Member List to check status)

$30 per session or $150 for six sessions (if registered before 2/26/20)

UPDATE: Due to COVID-19, sessions held virtually will be $15 per session for Centralina Members

Non-Member Registration: (refer to Current Member List to check status)

$35 per session or $175 for six sessions (if registered before 2/26/20)

UPDATE: Due to COVID-19, sessions held virtually will be $20 per session for non-Members

Student Registration:

$15 per session

UPDATE: Due to COVID-19, sessions held virtually will be Free per session for students

2020 Sessions and Descriptions:

1. February 26th - MPO Basics: What Local Governments Need to Know About Project Prioritization, Funding Availability, and Timing - Transportation is complex, long-term, and on the minds of residents and business interests. Hear from transportation experts about the basics that every planner should know.
2. Virtual Meeting - June 18th - Regional Impact Projects: Who Knows What and When?  - In a growing region, what do you want to know about major developments in a neighboring community and when? Hear about how some regions are opening the dialogue in an effort to increase efficiencies and avoid surprises.
3. Virtual Meeting - August 18th - Transit and Housing: What’s the Link and Why Does it Matter? - Properties near the LYNX Blue Line and other proposed light rail corridors are experiencing development pressure. Neighborhoods, communities, and local government staff are working to identify the best transit-oriented development patterns based on local identity and vision. The Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS) was awarded a Federal Transit Administration planning grant to assess and plan for future transit-oriented development patterns at the proposed Silver Line stations. What issues have come up? What decisions are they making? What can others learn from their experiences? How is affordable housing being included in the vision and identity?
4. Virtual Meeting - September 17th - Planning for Resilience: What Does This Mean for Piedmont Communities? - We often think of the coast and mountain regions when discussing disaster management, but resiliency is so much more. What is resiliency and what can your community be doing to better prepare for an uncertain future?
5. Virtual Meeting - November 10th - Planning Ethics Case of the Year - This year's "case of the year" is a series of ethical scenarios based on real-life planning issues from the past year. It was developed by the AICP Ethics Committee, with the assistance of AICP Ethics Officer James Peters, FAICP. The ethics topics discussed are: confidential information, endorsements, personal property, professional misrepresentation, public engagement, running for office, and social equity.
6. Virtual Meeting -December 10th - Exploring the Transportation and Health Connection - Transportation impacts health directly, through vehicle and bike/ped crashes and time spent in cars and indirectly through the environment, limitations to access, and community growth patterns focused on one mode. Hear how MPOs, DOTs, and national organizations are flipping the script to increase health outcomes through changes in the transportation policy.

Sessions will begin at 11:30 a.m. Session length 1.5 AICP CM credits.