Fort Bragg Sustainable Growth Management Strategy

LandDesign led a team of consultants to develop the Sustainable Growth Management Strategy for the Fort Bragg Region in North Carolina. Approximately 36% of total population growth in the region between 2006 and 2013 will be a direct result of military investments consistent with the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) program. This growth is increasing the demand for housing and services and improving the region’s economic climate, especially in surrounding communities. However, the growth is also having an impact on the existing infrastructure and environment. A multi-jurisdictional approach to addressing issues and opportunities ensures a more sustainable future for all affected communities and more unified support for the military mission. Therefore, Fort Bragg Regional Alliance (formerly known as the BRAC Regional Task Force), with assistance from our multidisciplinary team, led the effort to unite public and private sectors to develop a Regional Sustainable Growth Management Strategy.

Two important components of this regional plan were the green infrastructure element and the land use scenarios. The green infrastructure element served two purposes. First, the Green Infrastructure system delineates those lands targeted for protection: natural and human-altered spaces that provide ecological, environmental, economic, cultural, and recreational benefits to the Fort Bragg region. Second, the Green Infrastructure mapping serves as input into the land use scenario planning modeling portion of the project as alternatives to current policies are considered.

The land use scenario planning model, constructed using INDEX software, is a GIS-based decision support tool employed to create a “base case” and a “build out case”, which was evaluated by the stakeholders to identify the shortcomings relative to the region’s goals pertaining to sustainable development. Additional cases, or development scenarios, were prepared to test alternative policy ideas and shape a vision for the future that is sustainable and regionally supported.

The final plan includes a “toolkit” of effective strategies that can be employed in the Fort Bragg region to achieve the sustainable future.