Sustainable Coastal Communities & Ecosystems

Regional Planning

The SUCCESS Program works with municipalities to develop policies and techniques for managing shared economic and environmental resources. The benefits of regional planning include cost savings by eliminating duplication of efforts, as well as increased influence at the state level as municipalities join forces and represent a larger constituency. Regional planning also helps prevent conflicting decionmaking (one community planning a major commercial development near another community's drinking water source). Regional planning can also improve environmental management of a major resource, such as a bay, by ensuring that policies among municipalities offer a consistent level of protection.

For instance, SUCCESS helps the municipalities on Aquidneck Island work together through the Aquidneck Island Planning Commission (AIPC) to redevelop the west side of the island, an area shared by Portsmouth, Middletown, Newport, and Naval Station Newport. For more information about the AIPC, visit http://www.aquidneckplanning.org/.

The Metro Bay SAMP is an example of regional planning among Cranston, Providence, Pawtucket, and East Providence.