PlanET Publication Offers Design Ideas for Knoxville's Future

Did you know that by the year 2040, the Knoxville region will be home to more than 1,000,000 people?

That's nearly 300,000 new residents, and with that growth will come an estimated 240,000 new jobs. How does the area grow in a way that accommodates the newcomers and also saves the things people love about East Tennessee?

PlanET - a three-year planning effort led by the citizens, governments, and businesses of Anderson, Blount, Knox, Loudon, and Union counties?was born from the need to answer those questions. Beginning in 2011 and working with a combination of local, state, and federal resources, the PlanET consortium gathered information and public opinion to better understand current challenges and plan for the future. As the planning stage came to an end this spring, the consortium published a number of tools to help the region begin implementing the plans.

Knoxville 2040: Centers and Corridors is one of those tools. A visionary document, it illustrates how future job growth in the Knoxville region can be accommodated in a series of centers and corridors. It focuses on Knoxville as the center of the region and offers a visual representation of urban design and transportation options needed to address citizen concerns regarding mobility, health, environment, and community.

"The Centers and Corridors document will be an inspiration to citizens, government officials, developers, and other stakeholders when properties are redeveloped and communities plan for their future," said Amy Brooks, PlanET project manager.

Knoxville 2040: Centers and Corridorsresponds to expected growth in six specific areas of Knoxville: Bearden, Burlington, East Town, West Town, Pellissippi, and Downtown. Ideas to address the specific challenges of redeveloping each are offered along with illustrations of how the areas could look in the future.

The University of Tennessee College of Architecture and Design?one of the many PlanET partners?published the document with technical input from MPC staff and funds from PlanET. It is available on the PlanET website, www.planeasttn.org.