American Planning Association Recognizes City's Build One Portsmouth Comprehensive Plan as Model for Resiliency

PORTSMOUTH, Va., August 12, 2019 (Newswire.com) - Portsmouth’s comprehensive plan Build One Portsmouth has been recognized across the Commonwealth and has become nationally recognized as a model for a resilience-based comprehensive plan. The Build One Portsmouth Comprehensive Plan was recently recognized by the Virginia Chapter of the American Planning Association as the 2019 Resilient Virginia Community of the Year. Planning Administrator Brian Swets was also the recipient of the Nelsonite Award as Virginia’s Planning Advocate of the Year. The awards were presented at the chapter’s annual conference awards luncheon in July.

The Build One Portsmouth Comprehensive Plan categorizes strategies under four main themes . . . thriving, resilient, evolving and equitable. Each theme serves as an aspect of what it will take to improve Portsmouth over the life of the plan. Each theme is then represented by a vision statement and supported by goals, all of which are outlined in the plan. Each goal contains strategies, specific tactics and possible metrics to be used to measure success. Portsmouth residents were invited, during the beginning phases of the process, to participate in the building of the new comprehensive plan. Public meetings were held and residents could weigh in on topics via the internet.

“We thank the citizens of Portsmouth for their participation in this entire Build One Portsmouth Comprehensive Plan process. We are truly proud of the city’s Planning Department under the direction of Deputy City Manager Bob Baldwin,” said City Manager Dr. L. Pettis Patton.

​Contact:
​Brian Swets, Planning Administrator
​Planning Department, 757-393-8836, swetsb@portsmouthva.gov