Now What? Translating Community Engagement Results into a Viable Plan

The Bigger Picture: In Focus

Although the scope of the 2024 East Lansing Comprehensive Plan Update process is limited, it's a very important, citywide process, and deserves our attention and energy. Community engagement has been ongoing since early 2024, starting with on-campus student engagement during MSU's spring semester, then moving on to our "Dream Play Build" activity, which helped us identify shared core values and a session with Dr. Rex LaMore that helped us get on the right path as we entered our community listening phase.

That phase is now wrapping up, and we need to synthesize what we've heard into an actionable plan. Thankfully, we have many highly qualified planning and zoning experts right here in East Lansing. One such expert is the director of MSU's Urban & Regional Planning program, Dr. Zenia Kotval, PhD, FAICP.

Dr. Kotval is a Fellow of the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP). She is also a Fulbright Scholar and a former Lilly Teaching Fellow. Kotval served as a member of the Planning Accreditation Board (PAB) and an ex-officio member of the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning (ACSP) Governing Board from 2016-2021. As a professor and program director of the Urban & Regional Planning Program in the School of Planning, Design and Construction, she regularly teaches courses in economic development and planning practicum. Kotval’s scholarship interests are in community-based development, economic policy and planning, the changing structure and characteristics of local economies, and the impacts of community development strategies.

Join us on Thursday, October 17 at Hannah Community Center, 819 Abbot Rd., East Lansing, for a lunch time talk and discussion. Although we will provide some light refreshments, participants are expected to bring their own lunch. This event is free and open to the public.

This event is from 11:30 am - 1:00 pm. Thank you!

Host or Publisher City of East Lansing Planning & Zoning