The Capitol Region Plan of Conservation and Development (POCD) is a best practice and policy document for the 38 cities and towns that make up the Capitol Region:
The Capitol Region Council of Governments (CRCOG) serves as the regional planning agency for our 38 member communities and per State statute is required to update and adopt a regional POCD at least once every 10 years. This document serves as a vision for the Capitol Region and looks to guide municipalities with regulatory best practices to accomplish that vision.
This update is an opportunity to think deeply about the spaces and places you interact with every day, the communities you belong to, where you live, work, play, learn, grow and thrive – environments that feed your soul and create safe spaces to feel comfortable in. It is also an opportunity to share the problem areas in the spaces you travel through and the places that deplete or frustrate you – understanding what isn’t working and why is just as important as we work to shape our future goals and policies.
This plan is a vision for the future of the Capitol Region with broad goals to facilitate that vision. CRCOG wants to ensure everyone is represented in this plan with a focus on equitable policies to best serve our communities, address the challenges facing us today, encourage and empower those who have been left behind in the past to shape their future, and strive for a vision that creates a better future for the next generations. Regardless of age, race, income, background, knowledge, sexuality, ethnicity, etc., we want your input on this regional vision.
Below are just a few gaps CRCOG would like to try to help bridge:
- Having nutritious and culturally relevant foods available for everyone is essential for a healthy and livable future. Are your towns and cities using adequate resources to provide access to nutrition? 17% of Connecticut is Food Insecure with 34% of the Hispanic/LatinX population reporting food insecurity and 25% of the Black population reporting food insecurity. (Source: 2015-2022 DataHaven Community Wellbeing Survey).
- The average citizen spends thousands of dollars a year on maintaining motor vehicles with demands of gas, maintenance and the upfront costs; In fact it is the second largest expense for Americans only after housing. Are your towns and cities providing the infrastructure to opt-out of these expenses? Within the Greater Hartford Area, a disproportionate number of Black and Hispanic/LatinX populations do not have access to a vehicle (17 and 18% respectively). (Source: 2015-2022 DataHaven Community Wellbeing Survey).
- Are your towns and cities supporting the infrastructure for individuals across all age groups to find shelter, grow and thrive within their existing communities? From 2020 to 2022 Home Prices within Hartford County have increased by 31% and rent has seen an increase at a rate of 20%. (source: 2015-2022 DataHaven Community Wellbeing Survey).
- Are your towns and cities providing and supporting spaces that allow you to socialize, develop meaningful relationships, and create daily routines where you have the opportunity to meet new people? “36% of all Americans—including 61% of young adults and 51% of mothers with young children—feel “serious loneliness.” (Source: Loneliness in America – Harvard.edu) “The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) points out that more than one-third of adults aged 45 and older feel lonely, and nearly one-fourth of adults aged 65 and older are considered to be socially isolated.” (Source: Loneliness and Social Isolation Linked to Serious Health Conditions – CDC.gov)
We have put together a survey to ask you what our priorities should be as the regional land-use policy organization and what is needed to support your sense of community. Take the survey HERE.
We encourage you to take the time to fill this survey out so that you and your community are represented in CRCOG’s regional POCD. Please share the survey with your community so that they may have the opportunity to have their voices heard.
If you are interested in the latest updates on our regional POCD, please join our Interested Parties List here. For more information, please visit our page at Regional Plan of Conservation and Development (POCD) – CRCOG | Capitol Region Council of Governments or email Kyle Shiel.
Note: This blog was cowritten by Caitlin Palmer, AICP and Jacob Knowlton. We’re grateful to DataHaven and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for the statistics we shared in this post.
