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Citizens Planning Academy
Learn about Local planning
Upstate Forever’s Citizens Planning Academy is an interactive, introductory course designed to provide a foundation for Greenville residents, business owners, and neighborhood leaders to understand processes that drive local planning and land use policy decisions as well as the roles and perspectives of diverse stakeholders.
Have you ever wondered how things get built in Greenville? Would you like to understand the role of the planning commission and city council in Greenville’s planning processes? Do you want to know how and why we should plan for future development that is 5, 10, or 15 years away? Then the Citizens Planning Academy is for you!
In this free, in-person, interactive course, participants learn about a variety of planning and development topics, such as the history of planning, how development projects come together, and how to get involved in planning processes for your community. City of Greenville and/or Greenville County residents who are motivated to become more informed, effective, and influential participants in local land use planning and policy decision-making are encouraged to apply. The course format typically includes 4-6 weeks of weekly evening sessions, but the specific session dates/times for each Academy are may differ slightly from course to course.
by the numbers
8 |
Academies completed since the Citizens Planning Academy was launched in 2019 |
200+ |
Graduates equipped to become more informed and effective participants in local land use policy decision-making |
28 |
Planners, elected officials, community leaders, and other guest speakers have presented to Academy participants since its inception |
Class is in session
The Fall 2025 Citizens Planning Academy series is underway Wednesday, September 24 - October 29, 2025.
If you missed your chance to apply for the current series and would like to be notified about the 2026 series, please join our Greenville Land Planning & Policy Updates email list.
We strive to provide universal access to the Citizens Planning Academy. Applicants with mobility and other accessibility challenges are encouraged to apply. We will work with participants that require additional accommodations to the best of our ability.
If you have questions about the Citizens Planning Academy, please contact Land Policy Grassroots Specialist Tre'Dessa Smalls at tsmalls@upstateforever.org.
Be the first to learn about the next Citizens Planning Academy
Sign up for Greenville Land Planning & Policy Updates (and our other e-newsletters) to be notified when we set dates and open applications.
Resources & Presentations
Presentations and resources for each Citizens Planning Academy are available below. To expand, click the name of the session you wish to access.
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Fall 2025 | Citizens Planning Academy
Presentations, resources, and other information from the Fall 2025 Citizens Planning Academy sessions can be found below.
session 1: Wednesday, September 24
Presentation:
- Introduction to City and Regional Planning, Keith Brockington, Transportation Planning Manager, Greenville County| GPATS
Additional resources:
- Greenville County Maps Online- GIS
- Greenville County Comprehensive Plan
- Five Year Review of Greenville County Comprehensive Plan
- GVL 2040 Comprehensive Plan (The City of Greenville)
- GVL 2040 Notification List - Public Engagement link
- Greenville- Pickens Area Transportation Study (GPATS)
- Greenville Transit Authority Goals & Priorities
- Sign up for Upstate Forever Land Planning & Policy e-newsletter updates
SESSION 2: WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 1
Presentation:
- Bike Walk Greenville: Advocating for mobility choices in Greenville County, Mary McGowan, Chair, Board of Directors & Jasmine Vanadore, Executive Director, Bike Walk Greenville
Additional resources:
- Strong Towns Website
- Escaping the Housing Trap by Charles L. Marohn & Daniel Herriges
- Bike Walk Greenville
- Walkable City Rules by Jeff Speck
- Checking Road Ownership in South Carolina
- SCDOT Online Work Order Request Form
- Greenville Cares
- Downtown Transportation Master Plan Survey
- Trees Upstate PowerPoint
- Sign up for Bike Walk Greenville Newsletter
- Sign up for Upstate Forever Land Planning & Policy e-newsletter updates
SESSION 3: WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 8
Presentations:
- Principles of Smart Growth, Jean Crowther, AICP, Principal Planner at Alta Planning + Design
- Zoning for Smarties: Introduction to Zoning, Michael Forman, AICP, Conduit Planning LLC
Additional resources:
- STRONG TOWNS, Daniel Herriges
- Conventional Development Versus Managed Growth: The Costs of Sprawl
- Smart Growth America
- Shaping Our Future Return-on-Investment Study
- Missing Middle Housing
- Shaping Our Futures Upstate South Carolina
- Sign up for Upstate Forever Land Planning & Policy e-newsletter updates
SESSION 4: WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 15
Presentation:
- Greenville County: Current Projects in Planning – Draper Carlile, Planning Director & Josh Henderson, Zoning Admin/Deputy Planning Director of Greenville County
Additional resources:
- Greenville County Planning
- Greenville County Comprehensive Plan Five Year Review
- Greenville County Long Range Planning
- Board and Commissions Calendar of Events
- County Council and Standing Committee Meetings Calendar
- County Code Enforcement
- Sign up for Upstate Forever Land Planning & Policy e-newsletter updates
SESSION 5: WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 22
Panel Discussion and Q&A: Roles and Perspectives in Local Planning Processes
- Dorothy Dowe – Councilmember, City of Greenville: ddowe@greenvillesc.gov
- Mario Brown – Affordable Upstate, Developer: mario@affordableupstate.com
- Alex Cahill – Planning & Development Director, City of Greer: acahill@cityofgreersc.gov
- Ashana Taylor – Associate Development Planner, City of Greenville: ataylor@greenvillesc.gov
Additional Resources:
- The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America by Richard Rothstein
- Greenville CARES
- Valerie Holmes – PE, Assistant City Engineer - Traffic: vholmes@greenvillesc.gov
- City of Greenville Planning & Development Department
- City of Greenville Development Code
- City of Greer Planning Division
- City of Greer UDO
- Affordable Upstate
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Fall 2024 | Citizens Planning Academy
Session 1: Wednesday, September 25
Presentation:
- The Big Picture: Introduction to Local Community Planning, Tee Coker, Assistant Administrator for Community Planning and Development, Greenville County
Additional resources:
- Greenville County Neighborhood Plans South Carolina Association of Counties
- Greenville County Comprehensive Plan
- Sign up for Upstate Forever Land Planning & Policy e-newsletter updates
Session 2: Wednesday, October 2 - Cancelled
Session 3: Wednesday, October 9
Presentations:
- Understanding the Principles of Smart Growth, Jean Crowther, Principal Planner at Alta Planning + Design
- Zoning for Smarties, Michael Forman, Conduit Planning LLC
Additional resources:
- Missing Middle Housing Study for Greenville City and County
- Missing Middle Housing
- Congress for the New Urbanism
- Smart Growth America: Improving Lives by Improving Communities
- Strong Towns
- Walkable City: How Downtown Can Save America, One Step at a Time
- Walkable City Rules: 101 Steps to Making Better Places
- How a Walkable Neighborhood Changed my Life
- Shaping Our Future/ Return on Investment Study
- The Death and Life of Great American Cities
- Oyez Cases
- Sign up for Upstate Forever Land Planning & Policy e-newsletter updates
Session 4: Wednesday, October 16
Presentations:
- Zoning Tools and The Greenville Development Code, Shannon Lavrin, City of Greenville City Manager
- Greenville County Unified Development Ordinance, Rashida Jeffers-Campbell, Greenville County Planning Director
Additional resources:
- Greenville County Unified Development Ordinance
- City of Greenville Development Code
- Home Rule: Understanding the Legislation that Created Local Government in South Carolina
- Everything You Need to Know about Special Purpose Districts in South Carolina
- Annexation in South Carolina: How Cities Grow
- Sign up for Upstate Forever Land Planning & Policy e-newsletter updates
Session 5: Wednesday, October 23
Panel Discussion and Q&A: Roles and Perspectives in Local Planning Processes
- Pam Adams, Planning Commissioner, City of Greenville
- Racquel Collier, Caliber Real Estate, Developer
- Anne King, Neighborhood Leader, West Greenville
- Ashana Taylor, Associate Development Planner, City of Greenville
Sustainable Communities Activity:
- In Search of Sustainable Communities, Allie Martinsen
- Sustainable Communities Worksheet
Additional resources:
- Not a Walk in the Park: What It Really Takes to Build Green Spaces | Planetizen Features
- Book Review: Combining Sustainability and Smart Growth | Planetizen Blogs
- How smart growth can protect against flooding in vulnerable communities - Smart Growth America
- Resilience Planning Through Equity Lens (youtube.com)
- The Affordable City: Supply, Stability, and Subsidy — and Lessons Since 2020 (youtube.com)
- Five reasons why urban practitioners should care about resilience | CNU
- This Doctor Is Working to Build Resilience and Land Justice for Communities of Color | Civil Eats
session 6: Wednesday, October 30
Presentations:
- Part 1: Documentary Film Screening: Segregated by Design
- Part 2: Facilitated Discussion, Tina Belge, Principal Consultant and Founder of Catalyst Community Consulting
Additional Resources:
- “Color of Law” Richard Rothstein Community-Wide Discussion Facilitator Guide
- Webinar Recording & Transcript "2023 Schul Conversation - Our Connecting Spaces: Mixed-Income Communities & Placed-Based Initiatives" hosted by Urban Institute, University of North Carolina - Charlotte, 10/26/2023
- Racial displacement in Greenville, SC: historic and current population shifts in the city of Greenville and surrounding Greenville county, 2023 Simple Civics podcast
- Story Map: Racial Displacement in Greenville, SC, Shi Institute at Furman prepared by Dr. Ken Kolb, Mike Winiski, Sam Hayes, and Catherine Lippert, 1/8/2023
- The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America by Richard Rothstein
- Retail Inequality: Reframing the Food Desert Debate by Dr. Ken Kolb
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Fall 2023 | Citizens Planning Academy
session 1: Wednesday, September 20
Presentations:
- The Big Picture: Introduction to Local Community Planning, Rashida Jeffers-Campbell, Planning Director, Greenville County
session 2: Wednesday, September 27
Presentations:
- Principles of Smart Growth: An Introduction to Urban Design, Community Character, and Equity in Planning, Patrea St. John, RLA, Leed-AP, AICP
- Bike Walk Greenville Introduction to Walk Audit Exercise, Mary McGowan, Chair, Board of Directors, Bike Walk Greenville
Additional resources:
- Missing Middle Housing Study for Greenville City and County
- Congress for the New Urbanism
- Smart Growth America: Improving lives by improving communities
- Bike Walk Greenville
- Simple Civics: Greenville County
- Design with Nature by Ian McHarg
- Walkable City Rules by Jeff Speck
Session 3: Wednesday, October 4
Presentations:
Additional resources:
Session 4: Wednesday, October 11
Panel Discussion and Q&A: Roles and Perspectives in Local Planning Processes
- Pam Adams, Planning Commissioner, City of Greenville
- Inez Morris, Neighborhood Leader/Public-Citizens Representative, West Greenville
- Jeff Randolph, The Randolph Group (TRG), Developer, Greenville County
- Richard Wright, 2023 Citizens Planning Academy Cohort Member, Bruce Heights Citizen Stakeholder
- Sherry Barrett, Land Policy Director, UF, Environmental Organization Stakeholder
Additional resources:
Session 5: Wednesday, October 18
Presentations:
- Greenville County Unified Development Ordinance, Rashida Jeffers-Campbell, Planning Director
- Zoning Tools for Greenville Development Code, Shannon Lavrin, Greenville City Manager
Additional resources:
- Greenville County Planning
- Greenville County Unified Development Ordinance
- City of Greenville Planning and Development website & Greenville Development Code
- Sign up for Upstate Forever's Geenville County Land Planning Issues Newsletter
session 6: Wednesday, October 25
Presentations:
- Part 1: Documentary Film Screening: Segregated by Design
- Part 2: Facilitated Discussion, Gail Peay, VP of Strategic Initiatives, Habitat for Humanity of Greenville County
Additional Resources:
- Webinar Recording & Transcript "2023 Schul Conversation - Our Connecting Spaces: Mixed-Income Communities & Placed-Based Initiatives" hosted by Urban Institute, University of North Carolina - Charlotte, 10/26/2023
- Racial displacement in Greenville, SC: historic and current population shifts in the city of Greenville and surrounding Greenville county, 2023 Simple Civics podcast
- Story Map: Racial Displacement in Greenville, SC, Shi Institute at Furman prepared by Dr. Ken Kolb, Mike Winiski, Sam Hayes, and Catherine Lippert, 1/8/2023
- The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America by Richard Rothstein
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Fall 2022 | Citizens Planning Academy
Wednesday, September 21
Presentations:
- The Big Picture: Introduction to Local Community Planning – Tee Coker, Greenville County Assistant County Administrator for Community Planning and Development
Additional resources:
- SC Planning Enabling Act Chapter 7: Planning by Local Governments
- Plan Greenville County Comprehensive Plan
- Session 1 photos
Wednesday, September 28
Presentations:
- Principles of Smart Growth: An Introduction to Urban Design – Patrea St. John, RLA, AICP
- Bike Walk Greenville Walk Audit – Mary McGowan, Board chair of Bike Walk Greenville
Additional resources:
- 10 principles of smart growth – Upstate Forever blog
- What is smart growth? – Smart Growth America
- Missing Middle Housing
- BikeWalkGreenville.org
- BikeMaps.org – Greenville, SC
- How a walkable neighborhood changed my life – Sherry Barrett for the UF blog
- Carfree commuting advice from a local expert – UF blog
- An update on walkable communities in Greenville County – Bike Walk Greenville blog
- Session 2 & walk audit photos
Wednesday, October 5
Presentations:
Additional resources:
Wednesday, October 12
Presentations:
- Segregation: The Impact and Opportunity in Community Planning – Travis Wharton, Director of Education and Economic Mobility for United Way of Greenville County
Additional resources:
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Fall 2021 | Citizens Planning Academy
Wednesday, Sept. 15 - Session 1
Wednesday, Sept. 22 - Session 2
History of Zoning - Presented by Austin Rutherford, AICP, Sr. Development Planner, City of Greenville, SC
Wednesday, Sept. 29 - Session 3
Zoning 101: The Basics - Presented by Jonathan B. Graham, III, AIA, Director of Planning & Development Services, City of Greenville, SC
Wednesday, Oct. 6 - Session 4
Principles of Smart Growth: An Introduction to Urban Design, Community Character & Equity in Planning - Presented by Patrea St. John, RLA, AICP, LEED-AP
Wednesday, Oct. 13 - Session 5
Wednesday, Oct. 20 - Session 6
Greenville County: Present and Future - Presented by Thomas Coker, Director of Planning, Greenville County, SC
Wednesday, Oct. 27 - Session 7
Presented by Shannon Lavrin, AICP, Assistant City Manager, City of Greenville, SC and Courtney Powell, AICP, Planning Administrator, City of Greenville, SC
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Spring 2021 | Citizens Planning Academy (virtual)
April 14
Kick off & Introductions: "Who Are We and Why Are We Here?"
April 21
"Smart Growth Principles: Introduction to Urban Design, Community Character, and Equity in Planning" presented by Patrea St. John RLA, AICP
April 28
Zoning: A Story of Bad Neighbors, Incompatibility, Separation, & Reunion - a multi-part presentation - Part 1: "History of Zoning" presented by Michael Frixen, Assistant to the City Manager, City of Greenville
May 5
Zoning: A Story of Bad Neighbors, Incompatibility, Separation, & Reunion - a multi-part presentation - Part 2: "Zoning 101: The Basics" presented by Jonathan Graham, AIA, Director Planning and Development
May 12
Zoning: A Story of Bad Neighbors, Incompatibility, Separation, & Reunion - a multi-part presentation - Part 3: "Zoning Today: Trends and Alternatives" presented by Shannon Lavrin, Assistant City Manager, City of Greenville
May 19
"GVL2040: Our Home. Our Future. Comprehensive Plan" presented by Courtney Powell, Planning Administrator, City of Greenville
May 26
Stakeholder Roles & Perspectives - Panel Discussion
June 2
Closing Session
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Fall 2020 | Citizens Planning Academy (virtual)
Wednesday, September 23
Smart Growth Principles: Intro to Urban Design, Patrea St. John RLA, AICP
Wednesday, September 30
Wednesday, October 7
Wednesday, October 14
Zoning Today: Trends & Alternatives, Shannon Lavrin, Assistant City Manager, City of Greenville
Wednesday, October 21
Wednesday, October 28
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Spring 2020 | Citizens Planning Academy (hybrid)
Wednesday, March 4
Wednesday, March 11
Wednesday, May 27
Wednesday, June 3
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Fall 2019 | Citizens Planning Academy
Wednesday, October 9
Wednesday, October 16
- Introduction to Urban Design, Community Character, & Equity in Planning
- AARP Conduct a Do it Yourself Community Walk Audit
- AARP What is Livable? Community Preferences of Older Adults
Wednesday, October 23
- ZONING A Story of Bad Neighbors, Incompatibility, Separation, and Reunion
- South Carolina Local Government Comprehensive Planning Enabling Act of 1994
- SC Planning Enabling Act CHAPTER 7 Planning by Local Governments
Wednesday, October 30
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