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STRATEGY

NashvilleNext’s seven plan elements provide a comprehensive approach to shaping the future of Nashville. (The seven elements form Volume II; they are included in summary form in this section.) The elements seek to coordinate capital improvements, land development regulations, and Metro activities, while also providing guidance to private and nonprofit partners. The plan’s implementation policies provide a platform for ongoing reporting on the plan’s progress. They also recommend regularly updating the plan to ensure it stays relevant to decision-makers.

Four basic strategies are central to NashvilleNext:

» Create more walkable centers » Create opportunity through abundant housing » Build a high capacity transit system » Increase the community’s resiliency

Create more walkable centers

Key trends shaping Nashville all suggest increased demand for walkable centers served by transit:

» Downsizing seniors who want to stay in their communities as they age » Young adults with less access to and interest in homeownership » A more diverse community, with a greater diversity of housing needs » Declining crime rates, and a broader perception of the city’s safeness » A more competitive school system.

Re-investing in Nashville’s existing neighborhoods, centers, and corridors to create walkable places offers other benefits as well. Walkability promotes better health and more social interaction between neighbors.

Infill development preserves more of Nashville’s natural features, which contribute to our county’s unique beauty. Green spaces also keep us healthy by cleaning the air and water and restoring us mentally and emotionally. Preserving these areas keeps us out of harm’s way when rivers flood and slopes erode.

However, Nashville has few complete, walkable neighborhoods. Because demand overwhelms supply, only a small number of people who would like to live in these places can afford to do so.

Genuine access

Throughout NashvilleNext, goals and policies are often framed as ensuring “genuine access.” This means that when we assess the options available to all Nashvillians, they are not genuine or meaningful unless people have the ability to access them.

For example, employers offering low- and medium-skill work who are not located near transit may not be genuinely accessible to a transit-dependent labor pool. Similarly, workers with children may not have access to jobs without also having access to childcare.

Genuine access requires us to look beyond what choices are offered to see what choices are truly, reasonably available, when other obstacles exist.

Creating centers

The Centers shown on the Concept Map have diverse assets as well as diverse needs. Some need capital improvements to make them ready for investment. Others need assistance for safety, health, or stability to maintain and support existing residents. The programs and approaches below are some of the activities that could be coordinated to make these Centers a reality that improves quality of life for all Nashvillians.

Neighborhood stability programs

» Safety, healthy, and accessibility housing upgrades » Homeownership programs » Affordable housing preservation » Targeted code enforcement » Safe Routes to School » Traffic calming » Tree planting » Neighbor Energy Works

Investment-ready places

» Neighborhood safety, connectivity, & beautification improvements » Land use regulations » Affordable housing creation » Transit service improvements » Local business districts or incentives » Small business training » Parking management programs » Parks and greenways » Public art (temporary & permanent) » Infrastructure maintainence or upgrades » District energy

Bridging capital

» Community oriented policing » Community emergency response training » Fire safety training » Mentoring or tutoring programs » Targeted workforce training

The Growth & Preservation Concept Map addresses this in two ways. First, new homes should be added in current walkable neighborhoods. New buildings should be placed in strategic locations, designed to respect their surroundings to minimize changes to the neighborhood’s established character.

Second, Nashville should invest in other places to make them more walkable. This encourages the market to add new homes, workplaces, and shops. This expands the number of walkable centers, improving the quality of life for nearby residents and reducing pressure on current in-demand neighborhoods.

These investments should focus on common, public parts of neighborhoods:

» Streets and infrastructure to support daily life » Parks, schools, libraries, and other public buildings that anchor and are integrated into mixed use areas » Plantings that provide shade and help manage stormwater » Public art and creative approaches to revitalizing commercial areas » Streetscapes that connect individual buildings to sidewalks and roads

The Growth & Preservation Concept Map identifies activity centers throughout the county. Tier One centers are the most appropriate places to encourage development in the next 10 years, based on demand and access to transit. To accommodate private investments to support these centers, public investments and activities should be aligned:

» Identify which investments and programs can be aligned to meet the needs of each center. The table below includes examples. » Conduct brief, intensive charrettes for each center and surrounding neighborhood to identify community and business priorities for improvements. » Dedicate a part of capital improvements each year to focus on one to three centers in a two year period, with a fixed budget for each.

Generally, these programs should address three goals. Some create investment-ready places, to spur the private market to build new homes and businesses. Some promote neighborhood stability, within the center or in nearby neighborhoods. Finally, some use Metro’s existing community building efforts to build relationships between new and existing residents.

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Source: Retrofitting Suburbia Design Studio

Figure I-64: Suburban Retrofits

Retrofitting suburbia is an approach to revitalizing declining commercial areas in suburbs to make them more walkable and stabilize the surrounding neighborhoods. It recognizes that empty big box stores and commercial strips, like the one at left (at Nolensville and Harding Place) offer advantages for redevelopment:

» Access to major transportation routes, especially along high-capacity transit corridors » They are generally flat with utilities » Parcels have already been aggregated and ownership is simplified

By re-using some existing buildings and filling in parking lots, these plans can be rebuilt as neighborhood centers, adding homes, workplaces, shopping, and green space in a walkable setting that supports increased transit service.

Nashville has an abundance of these sites.

Create opportunity through abundant housing

Nashville faces four related, but distinct affordability issues in how it has been built in the past and is currently building into the future.

» Concentrated poverty: A high-poverty neighborhood has 30 percent or more of its residents living in poverty. In Nashville, one-third of people living in poverty live in high-poverty neighborhoods. People in high-poverty neighborhoods have more trouble finding work, experience higher crime rates, and have worse health outcomes than people living in mixed income neighborhoods.

» Gentrification and displacement: Lower- and middle-income households feel squeezed by rising property values. Because of this, many move away from their existing neighborhoods and support networks. While some homeowners benefit when they relocate, many others struggle to find homes that fit their budget elsewhere in the county. Traditionally, gentrification has been a concern for low-income and minority families. Increasingly, middle income households in desirable neighborhoods also feel its pinch.

» Suburbanization of poverty: Poor households are moving to Davidson County’s outlying suburbs, such as Madison, Hermitage, and Antioch. Some move to lower their rent. Others move to be closer to lower-skill jobs, which are increasingly located at or beyond the county’s edge. While these areas may offer lower cost housing, they have less transit access and fewer services nearby. This forces households already struggling with high costs into auto ownership or into complicated, time-consuming arrangements for transportation. Existing residents in these communities may resist adding services needed by lower income households, such as health clinics. Meanwhile, the overall density of these areas is still low enough that it is difficult to provide transit.

» Exclusion: Many higher income neighborhoods contribute to the other three issues by limiting access to high-opportunity, in-demand resources and services. When smaller, more affordable homes are not allowed to be built near good schools, employment centers, and amenities like shopping districts, the cost of housing in these areas goes up. People who cannot afford those prices must live elsehwere, making daily life tougher. This creates a ripple effect, as middle income households seek those amenities elsewhere, leading to gentrification.

Developing equitably in the face of these pressures requires a comprehensive approach that includes each of these strategies:

» Supporting abundant housing in areas well-served by transit with nearby work, retail, or schools.

» Work with neighbors and developers to explore new housing types that increase homes within existing neighborhoods without disrupting their current character.

» Preserve affordable housing in gentrifying neighborhoods and retain long-term affordable housing on public housing sites.

» Create new middle-income and affordable housing when new development occurs throughout the county.

A comprehensive approach to housing affordability is necessary to ensure that safe, healthy housing is attainable for all Nashvillians.

Figure I-65: Abundant housing

Use centers, corridors, neighborhoods, and the areas in between to provide a variety of housing options that keep pace with Nashville’s increasing and diverse demand for housing.

Neighborhoods represent an enormous stock of housing that will be critical for the future. Preserving the character of neighborhoods is important for maintaining the quality of life. However, neighborhoods can also help accommodate the need for new homes. Vacant lots should be built up in ways compatible with the sourrounding homes. We should also seek to identify ways to carefully add new dwelling types without disrupting character, such as allowing accessory dwellings or intensifying strategic areas, such as corner lots.

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Areas between neighborhoods and centers or corridors should provide a transition in density and intensity. The transition is accomplished by regulating height and bulk to produce buildings with small to mid-sized footprints. Doing so gives Nashville the opportunity to locate more people close to key amenities, like transit lines and shopping and to add more diverse housing types. These housing types can be built at a lower price than taller buildings with structured parking.

The densest development should occur within centers and along corridors throughout the county. Buildings will generally be mid-rise or taller, often with structured parking. Though more expensive to build, requiring that some units be dedicated to affordable or workforce housing ensures that people across all income levels have access to these locations even in the short term.

High capacity transit

As Nashville grows and congestion increases, the high cost of land and location of current buildings limit our ability to dedicate more land to the transportation system to widen roads. We must efficiently use the land we have to get people where they need to go, finding a better balance between travel modes that take a lot of space, like cars, with those that use space more efficiently, including transit and walking. A complete and efficient transportation system is necessary to improve quality of life and increase economic prosperity. This has many facets, but central to it is creating a high capacity transit system that is competitive with auto trips. Competitive can mean many things, from the time it takes to complete a trip to providing amenities like Wi-Fi access that make transit more enjoyable or productive compared to driving. To do this, four factors shape transit service:

» Transit is oriented to people’s needs. The system must recognize and balance the diverse needs of its riders and potential riders. These include people who are dependent on transit as well as people who are interested in taking transit, but need better service. Transit should provide these riders the freedom to get where they need to go.

» Transit goes where people need. The system goes where people need to go. Right now, Nashville’s transit network favors trips into and out of downtown. However, only 13 percent of Davidson County commuters go downtown. Expanding the system to better serve cross-county trips is critical. A transit system oriented only to downtown limits itself only to people traveling downtown.

» A built environment that supports transit. A key factor limiting cross-county trips and more frequent service is the density of development outside of downtown. The current transit system is oriented to downtown because that is where the density of jobs and homes supports good transit service.

» Use transit to reorganize corridors. Improving transit service can also be an opportunity to improve transportation for all modes. A comprehensive review of traffic flow and access patterns can improve driving, walking, and biking.

The high-capacity transit corridors shown on the Growth & Preservation Concept Map are a long-term solution. Because transit ridership is closely tied to density and land use patterns, many of the routes on the Concept Map will not support frequent transit in the near term. Increasing density of jobs and residences in appropriate locations along these routes will, in the long run, provide riders that make transit feasible in these places.

Routes that currently support frequent transit service are identified as priority routes on the Growth & Preservation Concept Map. They are planned to have the greatest improvements to transit capacity in the next 10 years. Priority routes connect the densest locations of homes and jobs. They also serve as connections to key regional destinations. Matching dense locations in Nashville with regional priorities allows Middle Tennessee to successfully compete for state and federal spending and allows Nashville and the region to work together to manage transportation for Nashvillians and the residents of surrounding counties alike. Developments that supports transit along these routes accommodate more homes, shops, and businesses for Nashvillians. However, they also give regional commuters more options for making their trips into and out of the county more useful.

Figure I-66: Land use and transportation

Transit service and investments evolve alongside development patterns. At low densities, there is little support for local service; residents must rely on park-and-rides. As density increases, so does service frequency and capacity. At the low end, this may be buses running only during rush hour or with a half an hour or more between buses.

The densest parts of the county support more frequent service, running every 10 to 15 minutes at peak times. As this happens, investments follow the most highly used routes, such as covered shelters or signal prioritization.

Nashville is now considering the next step: giving transit dedicated space on roadways. Because this is extremely costly, it requires a commitment to placing more homes and jobs on these routes. Doing so ensures that these investments have the greatest impact on expanding Nashvillians’ ability to get around.

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High capacity transit corridors

• Priority Corridor
• Corridor

Level of transit service by current population and employment

• None/park & ride
• 30 to 60 min headways
• 15 min headways
• Rapid transit (low)
• Rapid transit (high)

Increasing community resiliency

As extreme weather happens more often in the future, becoming more resilient in the face of hazards is critical. A resilient community is less endangered by natural hazards in two ways.

First, we adapt our built and natural environment to current and future hazards. For example, flooding worsens when three conditions align:

» Sustained, heavy rainfall » More impervious surfaces that funnel water quickly into streams and rivers » Homes and other structures in flood-prone areas

Weather patterns are outside of Nashville’s control. Within our control are how we manage stormwater and where we place buildings. Green infrastructure and a compact city shape the extent of damage and injury from heavy storms.

However, flooding is not the only hazard Nashville faces in the future. Droughts, heat, and more severe storms affect our health, built environment, and economy.

How we make the built environment, and how we include and preserve natural systems within it, is crucial to maintaining resiliency in the face of natural hazards.

Second, Nashville’s response to the 2010 flood shows the importance of social cohesion. To be a resilient community, we must also continue to maintain and improve social relations. Nashville has a long history as a welcoming community. However, it has also failed to meet that standard at critical moments. Times of change, especially within neighborhoods, can stress relations. To be true to Nashville’s spirit, we must continue to work through the friction that results as we grow and change.

Figure I-67: Green infrastructure

Green infrastructure recognizes the benefits of natural plantings for people and the built environment. As parts of Nashville become more dense, green infrastructure allows us to reduce environmental impacts and create more welcoming places. Deaderick Street in downtown (below) is a green street, which uses pervious pavement and biorentention beds built between the sidewalk and street to capture stormwater run-off. Native plantings with deep roots allow the rain to percolate into the groundwater. Deaderick also has street trees to cool walkers on the sidewalk.

Green infrastructure techniques like these reduce the burden on underground pipes and utilities, which reduces the cost of stormwater improvements. Because they soak water into the ground rather than conveying it directly to creeks and rivers, they also reduce flooding.

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A holistic view

These things are important in their own right. However, in the long run they also shape key things that Nashvillians care about:

Community Safety

Safety, and perceptions of safety, are critical to Nashville’s livability. This includes being safe from crime, but also safe from traffic accidents and natural disasters.

As we rebuild our centers and corridors, we can also improve their safety. Large parking lots, vacant lots, poorly lit alleys, and overgrown vegetation give criminals places to operate. Making shared spaces like streets and parks better lit, accessible, and more visible reduces crime. So does limiting access to semi-private places (like courtyards).

Making these areas more walkable, with more destinations to walk to and transit access, helps as well. More people on the street means more witnesses to deter criminals. But walkable streets also means re-orienting streets to make pedestrians safer from car traffic. Welcoming streetscapes, making pedestrians visible, and reducing conflict points between walkers and drivers mean fewer injuries and deaths.

Better community relations helps everyone. Nashville has many successes in improving relations between the police and Nashville’s diverse communities. As we work to build better relations, police engagement with communities will continue to be critical. Public safety is a shared interest that bridges old and new residents.

Strong neighborhoods

At their best, Nashville’s neighborhoods give residents safe places to raise families or respite from work or school. They provide neighbors and friends, recreation and shopping, shade and sunshine. Not every neighborhood does all these things well, but all do them to some extent.

Strengthening neighborhoods has been a critical concern to Nashvillians. Many neighborhoods, even those with strong, stable housing stock, lack a center: a place to see neighbors, to browse, to attend to daily needs. In their place, too many neighborhoods have declining commercial corridors. The streetscapes of these areas are hostile to pedestrians. Many lack the services residents want.

Rebuilding our commercial corridors can bring back these areas so they support the surrounding community. Investing in streetscapes and sidewalks makes them more livable, which can attract private investment. As new homes are added, local businesses have a broader customer base. Improving transit gets more potential customers walking by. It also means more opportunities for neighbors to interact.

Finally, finding ways to build bridges between new and old residents is crucial. Nashville has shown that we look after our own when disaster strikes. Now we must rise to the challenge of reaching out to one another during the changes coming in the next 25 years.

Education

Preparing today’s children for tomorrow’s world requires supportive families and high-quality schools. It also takes neighborhoods that support play and exploration. All these together help children and youth become confident, mature adults.

Neighborhoods that limit children to their yards or blocks also limit those children’s social development. Improving walkability and neighborhood safety expands how far children can range. Locating schools within centers with access to transit and connected by safe streets helps. Children also need convenient access to out-of-school activities, parks, and work opportunities. If we embrace new neighbors, they help look after youth in the neighborhood.

Safe neighborhoods give youth more control of their lives and more opportunities. But they are especially important when parents balance busy or complicated work schedules. Work pressures are increasing for many parents. For some, the nine-to-five workday includes a second shift after the kids go to bed. For others, varied, changing schedules (common in retail jobs) makes reliable transportation almost impossible.

NashvilleNext does not address what students learn in school or how Nashville should balance school choices. Instead, it recognizes the other influences on children’s lives. These things are outside of what the school system controls, but are critical to children’s success.

Vibrant economy

Nashville’s low cost of living and affordability for businesses have long been a key strength. Current trends threaten both affordable homes and affordable places for business close to customers. Just like people, Nashville’s diverse economic base needs a diversity of affordable places. Small shops need low-rent, high-traffic locations. Musicians and artists need studio space. Larger offices need easy access for workers.

Keeping up with our growth and the changing market for homes and businesses is critical to maintaining affordability. How workers get to jobs throughout the county is central to this. As jobs have dispersed throughout the county and region, workers who rely on transit face the stark choice. Their commute may take an hour or more, or they may simply not be able to take jobs beyond downtown. Meanwhile, congestion and parking limit downtown’s ability to grow. A stronger transit system is critical to maintaining both downtown growth and improving access to job sites outside of downtown.

Government efficiency

A compact city is necessary to walkable neighborhoods and a competitive transit system. It also helps Metro manage its bottom line by allowing the efficient provision of services. Spreading out homes and workplaces means more miles of roads, sidewalks, sewers, and other infrastructure per person. It also means spreading out the services and programs that Metro provides, such as Health Department initatives or Codes enforcement. Even when developers pay for the initial construction, these become the ongoing responsibility of Metro to maintain. In the long run, more infrastructure per person means higher tax bills and utility charges.

Growing within our existing infrastructure allows Nashville to increase our tax base without taking on additional obligations. Preparing now to optimize infrastructure during its normal life cycle of repair and maintenance reduces the cost of new development. In the Gulch, for instance, modernizing underground utilities throughout the entire district made it easier for developers (both market-rate and affordable housing providers) to add new homes, shops, and offices.

Moreover, Metro can coordinate its investment activities and regulations so that, as the private market responds to new opportunities, Metro’s capital expenditures act as investments they pay back by increasing the tax base over time.

Altogether, increasing the tax base while limiting new infrastructure obligations gives Metro more flexibility in spending. It can keep lower tax rates, increase services, or a mix of the two.

PLAN ELEMENTS

The Goals and Policies for each of NashvilleNext’s seven Plan Elements are included below. Each provides a summary of the full Element chapters that make up Volume II of NashvilleNext.

Plan Elements

⬚ figure Land Use, Transportation & Infrastructure

⬚ figure Arts, Culture & Creativity

⬚ figure Economic & Workforce Development

⬚ figure Education & Youth

⬚ figure Housing

⬚ figure Health, Livability & the Built Environment

⬚ figure Natural Resources & Hazard Adaptation

LAND USE, TRANSPORTATION & INFRASTRUCTURE

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How land is used, how public and private services support daily life, and how we get around Nashville are central to shaping the quality of life in Nashville and to creating the future that Nashvillians want. The core purpose of a general plan like NashvilleNext is to improve quality of life for all residents during times of change by creating convenient, equitable, healthy, efficient, and attractive communities for present and future generations. It does this by aligning land use regulations with investments in transportation and other infrastructure.

How land is used does not happen in isolation from the other things the public cares about, such as affordability, sense of community, health, and environmental quality. Generations of planners have learned that addressing land use and infrastructure in isolation from these issues produces irrelevant plans and frustration for the public.

Because of this, the Land Use, Transportation & Infrastructure element is structured differently than the other elements in NashvilleNext. This element is primarily built around the Growth & Preservation Concept Map, which shows, at a broad, countywide level, where to locate the different kinds of places Nashvillians would like to have in the future and the transportation to support those places. From a planning perspective, this translates into where different kinds of investments and regulations are appropriate. This gives the other elements geographic context for their goals and policies.

What does geographic context mean? Consider calls for both preservation of open space as well as improvements to transit service and increasing density. Where each of these happens in the county is critical to Nashville’s success. When the public wants both at the same place, conflict ensues. But finding the best place for each reduces that conflict and can make them work together better. The Growth & Preservation Concept Map provides this guidance, giving geographic context for Nashvillians’ vision and goals for the future.

This element matches the Growth & Preservation Concept Map with Goals that lay out what the map is intended to achieve.

Growth & Preservation Concept Map features

Center Pedestrian-friendly areas with frequent transit service that contain a dense mix of homes, shops, jobs, and parks, as well as services, schools, and cultural amenities.

⬚ figure TIER ONE

⬚ figure TIER TWO

⬚ figure TIER THREE

Growth & Preservation Concept Map series

The Growth & Preservation Concept Map provides the highest level view of how different parts of the county support Nashvillians’ vision for the city’s future. It is supplemented by several additional maps that provide more detail on its features.

Growth & Preservation Concept Map

The Growth & Preservation Concept Map reflects Nashvillians’ desires for how Nashville should grow in the future. It identifies a green network that provides access to nature, requires environmental protection, and preserves natural resources. It also identifies and preserves the physical character of rural, suburban, and urban areas.

Smaller and larger activity centers accommodate most future growth, improve public spaces, support transit, provide walkable areas close to most parts of the county, and sustain economic activity. The locations of these centers are generally where centers and mixed use areas were identified in prior Community Plans. In some cases, the Concept Map will propose more intense centers than were identified previously. Infill development should be encouraged along transit and multimodal corridors in between and immediately around activity and employment centers in transitional and infill areas.

The Concept Map places center areas in three tiers:

» Tier One: These centers are the focus of coordinated investments to shape growth and support transit service in the next 10 years. » Tier Two: These centers receive some investments to manage growth, though less than Tier One centers. » Tier Three: These areas are not identified to receive coordinated investments to shape demand. Investments may be made to support their current functions. Metro will work with the private sector to ensure new development and redevelopment support Nashvillians’ vision for centers.

The designation of an area as a Tier One, Two or Three Center indicates Metro’s intent to coordinate investments and regulations to support development and redevelopment as discussed above. The Centers must be considered in conjunction with the Community Character Policies in each

Growth & Preservation Concept Map features

⬚ figure Green network Natural and rural areas that provide natural resources (like farming), ecological services (like cleaning air and water), and passive and active recreation opportunities. They also include sensitive natural features that can be disturbed or destroyed by development or that pose a health or safety risk when developed (such as floodplains and steep slopes with unstable soils).

⬚ figure OPEN SPACE ANCHOR

⬚ figure AREA MISSING OPEN SPACE ANCHOR

Community Plan (Volume III), which provide detailed guidance for future land use, character, and development intensity. The designation of a Tier Center does not indicate endorsement of all zone changes in the Center area. Rather, the zone change proposal must be considered in light of the Community Character Policy, any special policies, and the context of the area.

While the Centers represent areas of greater growth and greater investment, Metro Government will still provide investments for safety, maintenance, and to improve quality of life across the county.

The Concept Map also identifies a network of frequent and reliable transit service. These routes should be more direct, with fewer stops. The most heavily used routes will be identified for high-capacity transit running outside of traffic.

Open Space

The Green Network, Sensitive Environmental Features, and Tree Canopy

On the Growth & Preservation Concept Map, the Green Network shows large, countywide natural resources and environmental features. It includes parks, rural areas, floodplains, and steep slopes. It also shows key water features: the Cumberland, South Harpeth, and Stones Rivers; Old Hickory, Radnor, and Percy Priest Lakes; and Browns, Mansker, Mill, Richland, Seven Mile, and Whites Creeks. We protect these for their beauty and because they mark this part of the country as unique. We treasure these places because they keep us healthy and active. We prevent or reduce development on or near them because it places people and property in harm’s way. We preserve them because they provide a vital good or service.

These features frame Nashville’s future by identifying what parts of the county should remain natural or rural. The Open Space Network Maps show a more detailed breakdown of these features. They are incorporated into Community Character Maps through Conservation Policy.

Community character

Neighborhoods, Transitions & Infill, and the Transect Map

Nashville’s neighborhoods have distinct characteristics—how buildings relate to one another and the street, how tall they are, sometimes a consistent architectural style. The Community Character Manual (Volume III) identifies three broad types of character: rural, suburban, and urban. It also recognizes there is considerable variation within these three types. The Transect Map shows where these character areas, along with centers, Downtown, and districts are located throughout the county.

Nashvillians cherish their neighborhoods, and wish to see what they love about them preserved. However, a growing population with cultural, social, and demographic differences and increasingly diverse preferences poses a challenge. Even without changing the buildings, a neighborhood can change substantially over time. Small homes that once held families may become attractive to young workers, alone or with roommates. Families may continue to look for larger and larger homes, with more rooms. Finding tools that allow neighborhoods to accommodate these changes without losing their essential character will continue to be a key goal for Nashville.

Transportation

Major and collector streets

Looking to the future, the street network will continue to be a vital asset for Nashville. However, it will be increasingly important to adapt it to better support users in addition to drivers: pedestrians, bicyclists, and transit riders. The Major and Collector Street Plan (part of Access Nashville 2040, Volume V) advances the city’s thoroughfare system to provide safe and effective access for all users while addressing streetscape design in context with the existing or envisioned character of the community. Context and character of a street are important, so the transportation facility fits its physical setting and preserves scenic, aesthetic, historic, and environmental resources, while maintaining safety and mobility. The Street Plan helps tie transportation to land use. Complete Streets and Context Sensitive Solutions (detailed in Access Nashville 2040) also advance environmental sustainability and community health.

Growth & Preservation Concept Map features

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Neighborhood Primarily residential areas offering a mix of housing types and character, with smaller civic and employment areas and small neighborhood centers. Neighborhoods have different character, depending on the context (rural, suburban, urban, or downtown).

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Transitions & infill Higher density housing that is appropriate along and around corridors and centers to provide a harmonious connection to surrounding neighborhoods.

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Special impact area Special impact areas include intense industrial areas, airports, landfills, and other uses that should be kept separate from homes.

Growth & Preservation

Concept Map features

High capacity transit corridor A framework of more intense housing and commercial areas along major roadways with more frequent transit service.

⬚ figure IMMEDIATE NEED Routes with near-term improvements to transit service.

⬚ figure LONG-TERM NEED Routes for longer-term improvements to transit service.

⬚ figure CONNECTION TO REGIONAL TRANSIT

Bikeways and sidewalks

The bikeways map shows how the greenway system provides cross-county bicycling routes. The sidewalks map shows streets with and without sidewalks.

High capacity transit network

The high capacity transit corridors shown on the Growth & Preservation Concept Map are a long-term solution. Because transit ridership is closely tied to density and land use patterns, many of the routes on the Concept Map will not support frequent transit in the near term. Increasing density in appropriate locations along these routes will, in the long run, provide riders that make transit feasible in these places.

Routes that currently support frequent transit service are identified as priority routes. These routes are planned to have the greatest improvements to transit capacity in the next 10 years. Priority routes connect the densest locations of homes and jobs. They also serve as connections to key regional destinations. Matching dense locations in Nashville with regional priorities allows Middle Tennessee to successfully compete for state and federal spending and allows Nashville and the region to work together to manage transportation for Nashvillians and the residents of surrounding counties alike. Developments that support transit along these routes accommodate more homes, shops, and businesses for Nashvillians. However, they also give regional commuters move options for making their trips into and out of the county more useful.

Community Plans

Nashville’s 14 Community Plans have guided development decisions since 1988. These plans were the starting point for the NashvilleNext process and the Growth & Preservation Concept Map.

All 14 plans have been updated alongside the creation of NashvilleNext. The 2015 updates bring all plans into a consistent format that more fully relies on the guidance of the Community Character Manual. The Community Character Policy Maps have each been updated to align with NashvilleNext.

In updating these plans, planners sought to adhere to community input from each plan’s last update. Planners also incorporated feedback from each community in response to re-zoning and plan amendment requests. Finally, throughout NashvilleNext, community members have provided input on proposed changes.

The Growth & Preservation Concept Map and the Community Plans have different roles. The Concept Map guides decisions over the course of 25 years and beyond. The Community Plans have shorter planning horizons, looking ahead only five to 10 years. Because of this, they need not incorporate all growth that could occur through 2040. Regular Community Plan updates can provide better guidance for development as it plays out in the coming decades.

Volume III: Communities

Nashville’s Community Plans—originally attached as amendments to Concept 2010—are here incorporated into NashvilleNext as Volume III, replacing all previously adopted versions. They provide history and context for Nashville’s 14 Community Planning Areas, along with community-specific issues, strategies, and sketches of how different places in the community could change over time. Finally, detailed Community Character Maps link the broad, countywide Growth & Preservation Concept Map to character policies that guide zoning and development decisions.

The Community Character Manual, Volume III, provides detailed explanations of the character policies used in the Community Character Maps.

Figure I-68: The Growth & Preservation Concept Map

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Figure I-69: The Open Space Network

Slopes and terrain

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Slopes & Terrain Legend

Figure I-70: The Open Space Network Tree canopy

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Tree Canopy Legend

Figure I-71: The Transect

Character areas in Davidson County

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Transects Legend

Figure I-72: The Major & Collector Street Plan

The Major and Collector Street Plan (MCSP) outlines the vision for major and collector streets in Nashville to ensure that these streets serve the needs of pedestrians, cyclists, transit riders, and drivers in a manner that is sensitive to the context of the street and the land uses on the street. As Community Plans are updated, the MCSP may be updated to reflect changes in the vision for the street.

To see the current MCSP, go to http://maps.nashville.gov/mcsp/ .

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Major and Collector Street Legend

Figure I-73: Bikeways

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Bikeways and Greenways Legend

Figure I-74: Pedestrian generators

This map shows which parts of the county have the most potentially walkable destinations. Because it was developed to help prioritize new and replacement sidewalks, it reflects only the destination and route, and not whether sidewalks are currently present.

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Pedestrian Generator Index Legend

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Figure I-75: High capacity transit corridors

— Immediate need
— Long-term need
➔ Regional connection

How to make it happen

This 200-mile framework for transit provides a long-term vision for how to align frequent transit service and land uses that support high ridership. This plan does not recommend what kind of transit mode should operate in each route or the priorities for when different routes should be updated. It only sets out the network that Nashvillians desire.

The ultimate cost to build this system will depend on decisions that Nashville will make over the coming decades. At the low end, treating all high capacity transit corridors as BRT Lite (like local express service on Gallatin, Murfreesboro, and Charlotte Pikes) would cost $2 billion. At the high end, putting the entire system into dedicated right of way (like light rail or bus rapid transit) would cost $8 billion.

Ultimately, the system that Nashville builds will likely be somewhere in the middle. Placing more people and jobs along these transit lines will support higher ridership, making larger investments more fiscally prudent. A more modest system will be easier to pay for, but will not improve accessibility for Nashvillians as much.

Year to year, the decisions that community members, Metro leaders, and the market make will shape the system that we build by determining where to locate the employment and homes that can provide future riders.

Land Use, Transportation & Infrastructure

Goals and Policies

LUTI goal 1

New commercial and residential growth improves the quality of life for Nashvillians by supporting their vision for Nashville’s future.

LUTI goal 2

Nashville strives to ensure that all communities share in the county’s prosperity and enjoy a high quality of life.

LUTI 2.1

Engage affected communities when making long-term land use decisions, with particular attention to communities vulnerable due to residents’ lack of time or resources to participate, historic or current discrimination, or other barriers to participation.

LUTI 2.2

Create mixed income communities that support good health and access to quality educational opportunities by maintaining affordability in gentrifying areas and incorporating affordable and workforce housing when new development occurs across the county.

LUTI 2.3

Ensure jobs, education, and training opportunities are located close to transit service, in centers, or in high-need areas.

LUTI 2.4

Build a complete, efficient transportation system that gives Nashvillians access to work, housing, cultural activities, and other needs throughout the county and region.

LUTI 2.5

Recognize and reflect Nashville’s cultural diversity and diverse needs when delivering programs or building, improving, or maintaining infrastructure, the built environment, or access to public art.

LUTI 2.6

Ensure all communities have access to parks, green areas, cultural amenities, and recreation opportunities that support mental and physical well-being.

LUTI 2.7

Support efforts to improve equity throughout Middle Tennessee.

Goals and Policies

» Goals set broad direction for the plan by applying the Guiding Principles to NashvilleNext’s seven plan elements. They identify, for each element, what NashvilleNext is trying to achieve. » Policies extend goals by providing more detail. They give more direct guidance on community decision making, without specifying which tools to use. (Identifying and adopting which tool is a job for actions and implementation.) As implementation occurs, if one particular tool is rejected by the public, the policy guidance remains.

LUTI goal 3

Nashville conserves its natural resources in order to mitigate floods and other natural hazards, ensure clean air and water, raise food locally, provide outdoor recreation, and preserve the culture and character of Davidson County.

LUTI goal 4

Nashville's neighborhoods provide residents with a choice of places to live, preserving neighborhood character and history while accommodating housing choices across income levels, interests, ages, abilities, and races or ethnicities.

LUTI goal 5

Nashville's neighborhoods include mixed-use, walkable centers, commercial districts, and corridors that fit within their context and character and offer housing affordable across a range of incomes.

LUTI 5.1

Invest in the built environment in and around centers to improve quality of life and attract private investment. The built environment includes gray infrastructure (such as buildings, streets, sidewalks, parking, sidewalks, and water and sewer pipes), green infrastructure (like trees, parks, landscaping, and innovative stormwater tools), and placemaking (such as urban design, public art, gateways, or creative signage).

LUTI 5.2

Create mixed income communities by encouraging more market-rate housing at lower price levels, preserving affordable housing in gentrifying neighborhoods, and creating new affordable homes when new market-rate homes are built.

LUTI 5.3

Provide jobs, transit access, groceries, schools, childcare, parks, cultural amenities, and other daily needs within centers. Align social services, health care, workforce development opportunities, and other critical services within centers.

LUTI 5.4

Use Metro services and programs and private community-building efforts to build relations between old and new residents.

LUTI goal 6

Nashville uses housing infill along mobility corridors to provide more housing choices that support walking and transit use and to transition gracefully between residential neighborhoods and more intense mixed use and commercial centers and corridors.

LUTI goal 7

Nashville residents have safe, meaningful transportation choices within their neighborhoods for commuting to work, meeting daily needs, and getting to all of the places Nashvillians want to go throughout the county.

LUTI goal 8

Nashville thoughtfully locates special impact areas in a manner that acknowledges the need for, and benefit from, special impact areas, while seeking to protect the safety of all nearby residents.

LUTI Goal 9

Nashville will have safe, adequately maintained, and intentionally planned infrastructure.

LUTI Policy 9.1

Provide regular reports on the condition of Nashville’s infrastructure and the cost of repair, upgrades in new infrastructure.

LUTI Policy 9.2

Create infrastructure plans that are in line with community goals and growth strategies, recognize lifecycle costs of new infrastructure, and maximize and maintain existing infrastructure investments.

LUTI Policy 9.3

Recommend expansions to the Urban Services District over time to include all areas identified as T3 Suburban or more intense.

LUTI goal 10

Recognizing its status as the center of a thriving region, Nashville embraces coordination with surrounding cities and counties to ensure greater prosperity and well-being for all.

ARTS, CULTURE & CREATIVITY

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Art, culture, and creativity reflect a city’s spirit and values—they are its pulse. Since its founding, art and cultural participation have been central to Nashville’s history and economy. Even Nashville’s nickname, “Music City,” was a compliment handed to the Fisk Jubilee Singers by Queen Victoria during the gospel troupe’s 1873 European tour. Music and its writing, production, and distribution have anchored the city and its economy for decades. Music infrastructure created an informal culture of sharing and collaboration between creative people that generated social capital, new ideas, and community identity. The music industry has been a magnet attracting visual artists, actors, fashion designers, print makers, coders, and other creative workers to the “Athens of the South.”

Art and culture are created and consumed in this teeming ecosystem composed of artists, more than 100 cultural nonprofits, and businesses like record shops, music clubs, and galleries. The Nashville Children’s Theatre is the oldest youth theater in the country, the Chinese Arts Alliance works to educate citizens on Chinese cultural traditions like dance and song, while the Nashville Jazz Workshop educates professionals and amateurs in jazz vocals and performance. We have a Grammy award-winning symphony, and the Belcourt is one of the most respected independent movie theaters in the country.

Alongside a vast network of cultural providers, Nashville boasts some of the most innovative music technology businesses from SongSpace to Artiphon. These startups are inventing the next generation of instruments and music production. In this creative soup are hundreds of informal groups who coordinate open mic poetry readings, as well as neighborhood festivals and gatherings that celebrate heritage and community from CultureFest: a Celebration of the African Diaspora to the Tomato Art Festival. Nashville’s diverse creative ecosystem is one of the many reasons it has become a cultural “It City” and international tourist destination.

This combination of cultural production and culture-based tourism employs more than 28 percent of Nashville’s workforce and reflects incalculable brand value. Arts and culture are Nashville’s unique competitive edge both in economy and quality of life. Like all cities, Nashville faces critical challenges that must be addressed through collaboration and public policy to ensure that this dynamism continues to ground our city and reflect its cultural and demographic changes over the next 25 years.

Goals and Policies

» Goals set broad direction for the plan by applying the Guiding Principles to NashvilleNext’s seven plan elements. They identify, for each element, what NashvilleNext is trying to achieve. » Policies extend goals by providing more detail. They give more direct guidance on community decision making, without specifying which tools to use. (Identifying and adopting which tool is a job for actions and implementation.) As implementation occurs, if one particular tool is rejected by the public, the policy guidance remains.

Arts, Culture & Creativity Goals and Policies

ACC Goal 1

Every Nashvillian has genuine access to opportunities to participate in the arts and cultural activities.

ACC Policy 1.1

Grow public funding for arts and culture so that Nashville remains competitive with peer cities.

ACC Policy 1.2

Expand cultural facilities and venues in neighborhoods.

ACC Policy 1.3

Increase Cultural Equity and Inclusion practices within nonprofit and city cultural providers.

ACC Policy 1.4

Better integrate art activation and public art into core city infrastructure planning for Parks, MDHA, MTA, and Public Health.

ACC Goal 2

Nashville artists and creative entrepreneurs have clear pathways to grow their professional practices and businesses.

ACC Policy 2.1

Establish the Mayor’s Office of Cultural and Creative Economy to coordinate Metro and private sector planning and investments in creative economic development.

ACC Policy 2.2

Expand existing workforce training and development for creative jobs.

ACC Policy 2.3

Increase the visibility of local art and artisans through citywide marketing and branding.

ACC Policy 2.4

Support funding and zoning practices that retain affordable housing and space for creating art throughout the county.

ACC Policy 2.5

Expand professional training and tools for artists and creatives.

ACC Goal 3

Nashvillians embrace arts education and lifelong cultural literacy as a core value.

ACC Policy 3.1

Incorporate and fund arts and creativity as a key component in Metro Schools' core curriculum, as well as priority programs and activities.

ACC Policy 3.2

Foster student career and technical training options in the arts, design, and creativity in Nashville and Middle Tennessee.

ACC Policy 3.3

Expand arts and cultural education opportunities for the general public.

ACC Goal 4

Nashville has thriving creative and cultural neighborhoods dispersed throughout the region.

ACC Policy 4.1

Integrate cultural amenities, facilities, and creative economic activation in all commercial corridors and neighborhoods.

ACC Policy 4.2

Create or streamline land use, zoning, and permitting tools to encourage the creation and enhancement of creative neighborhoods and cultural districts.

ACC Policy 4.3

Expand funding sources for permanent and temporary public art while also funding public art maintenance throughout the region.

ECONOMIC & WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT

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A city’s economy includes all of the activities for pay that pass money from customers to businesses and from employers to employees, recognizing that everyone plays multiple roles at some point. In 2014, the economy of Nashville and Middle Tennessee reached the $100 billion mark, making it the 34th largest metro economy in the country. Cities, states, and other organizations conduct economic development to expand the size, scope, and quality of the economy. Generally, economic development has three goals:

» To create and retain quality jobs: meaningful, well-paid jobs allow workers and their families to thrive. » To enhance the tax base: businesses support Nashville property and sales tax base directly and through the salaries and wages they pay employees that flow into the economy through employees’ purchases. » To enhance the quality of place: more businesses and workers are looking for high quality places to locate.

Nashville as the product is more important than ever. The businesses that Nashville attracts are looking for five major things:

» A talented workforce » Room to locate and expand » Transit » High-performing PK-12 school system » Quality places

While earlier approaches to economic development focused only on business attraction, assuming that the workforce would follow, attracting and developing the workforce directly is now a key strategy.

Economic development considers six key features to understand how to intentionally grow Nashville’s economy:

» Economic base: The part of Nashville’s economy that brings money in from outside the region. » Secondary economy: Generally, retail and services for routine purchases and needs. » Skills & workforce development: The talent in Nashville’s workforce and the process of improving workers’ skills. » Education: Nashville’s PK-12 school system that prepares tomorrow’s workforce and attracts businesses and workers to Nashville. » Innovation: Developing new tools and business models in response to fast-changing technologies and consumer preferences. » Regionalism: Recognizing that Nashville’s economy rises and falls as part of the wider regional economy.

Economic & Workforce Development

Goals and Policies

Goals and Policies

» Goals set broad direction for the plan by applying the Guiding Principles to NashvilleNext’s seven plan elements. They identify, for each element, what NashvilleNext is trying to achieve. » Policies extend goals by providing more detail. They give more direct guidance on community decision making, without specifying which tools to use. (Identifying and adopting which tool is a job for actions and implementation.) As implementation occurs, if one particular tool is rejected by the public, the policy guidance remains.

EWD goal 1

Nashville will have a thriving economy, built on a diversity of economic sectors that are nationally and internationally competitive, mid- to largesize businesses that provide a large and diverse number of employment opportunities, and entrepreneurial and small businesses that support our quality of life.

EWD 1.1

Support entrepreneurs and small businesses by providing locations to develop and grow new businesses, business development training, support for smallbusiness and startup districts, and clear laws and regulations.

EWD 1.2

Create an adequate inventory of investment-ready places to match the diverse needs of different kinds of businesses. Investment-ready means places whose entitlements are in line with market demand, infrastructure, political, and community support.

EWD 1.3

Keep existing and recruit new businesses that complement Nashville workers and industries, that help to provide career opportunities across skill levels, and that attract new and retain existing workers to Nashville.

EWD 1.4

Search for opportunities for new industries and economic sectors with the potential to grow and support rising incomes to locate in Nashville.

EWD 2

Nashville will increase the quality of life and business opportunities throughout Davidson County to make life better for existing residents and attract new residents.

EWD 2.1

Expand business opportunities, retail, and services that fit the character and context of underserved areas.

EWD 2.2

Support public and private investments in Nashville that improve the quality of life, maintain a competitive cost of living, and provide critical services and facilities to retain current residents and attract a high-skill workforce.

EWD 3

Nashville’s workforce will match skills needed by today’s employers as well as be prepared for the shift to increasingly higher skilled jobs that will account for most of our expected employment growth.

EWD 3.1

Ensure secondary, postsecondary, and vocational opportunities in the Nashville region are matched to current employer needs and future job trends.

EWD 3.2

Ensure that the region retains college-educated talent from our local postsecondary institutions to meet workforce needs.

EWD 3.3

Create direct and available pathways to connect Nashville workers to long-term employment opportunities with identified potential for prosperity with particular emphasis on workers living in poverty.

EWD 3.4

Integrate immigrants, migrants, and refugees into the workforce, with resources to allow them to reach their full potential and bring skills from their home countries to good use in Nashville.

EDUCATION & YOUTH

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Nashvillians are concerned about the health, education, and well-being of our city’s children. Whether they are our children, neighbors, students, or simply in our community, Nashvillians want to provide a bright future Nashville’s children.

Beyond the fact that children and youth add vitality to Nashville, beyond basic moral or ethical concerns for children, there are real and immediate reasons to care about Nashville’s children and youth. When children are healthy and engaged in learning and productive out-of-school activities, the city reaps the benefits of reduced health care and delinquency costs.

Nashville’s youth are also its future employees, civic participants, and leaders. A child born at the beginning of the NashvilleNext process, in 2012, will be 28 at the end of the NashvilleNext horizon in 2040. The education and preparation of Nashville’s children and youth will be key to Nashville’s economic success and civic leadership in the future.

NashvilleNext does not direct curricula or how Metro Nashville Public Schools operates. Instead, the General Plan seeks to shape the context that children and youth grow up in.

If school choices are available, children and their families should have genuine access to them, meaning that these options are viable and not precluded due to cost, transportation, or other barriers. The plan recognizes the critical support system outside of schools that helps families and children stay healthy and safe. And it works to ensure that all neighborhoods in Nashville support the development of children.

Goals and Policies

• Goals set broad direction for the plan by applying the Guiding Principles to NashvilleNext’s seven plan elements. They identify, for each element, what NashvilleNext is trying to achieve.
• Policies extend goals by providing more detail. They give more direct guidance on community decision making, without specifying which tools to use. (Identifying and adopting which tool is a job for actions and implementation.) As implementation occurs, if one particular tool is rejected by the public, the policy guidance remains.

Education & Youth Goals and Policies

EY Goal 1

Pursue a shared, communitywide vision and agenda to provide quality care, education, and opportunity to Nashville’s children and youth, considering each child’s learning style, language, culture, special learning needs, and economic status, meeting each child where they are in life with the expectation that the child will succeed.

EY 1.1

Commit to using information, research, best practices, and measurement in designing and implementing the care and education of Nashville’s children, setting the standard for high quality care and innovation in all our work with Nashville’s children and holding ourselves accountable to that standard.

EY 1.2

Provide strong community support and resources for Nashville’s students through evolving and diverse PK-12 school learning environments.

EY 1.3

Provide mentors and role models from throughout the community to work with children and youth.

EY 1.4

Empower Nashville’s children and youth to participate in setting the course of their education, activities, employment, and other aspects of their lives and act upon their decisions by giving them what they need to make informed decisions for their future, a voice in decisions impacting them, and genuine access to resources and opportunities, regardless of their means.

EY 1.5

Create positive pathways for children and youth who are facing homelessness, delinquency/gangs, dropping out of school, and other threats to their well-being such as drugs/alcohol.

EY 1.6

Support children with disabilities and their families so that they are fully accepted and included in opportunities for learning and success.

EY 1.7

Address challenges faced by children and youth in foster homes and their transition into adulthood.

EY 1.8

Provide support to children, youth, and families facing challenges associated with barriers such as citizenship status or lack of English language skills, including access to PK-16 educational opportunities.

EY Goal 2

Provide all children, youth, families, and caregivers quality educational opportunities, information needed to make informed decisions on school choices, and genuine access to follow through on the choice.

EY 2.1

Provide all families with the information they need to access educational choices and opportunities in and outside of school in a format and language that is relevant and understandable to them.

EY 2.2

Provide early educational programs such as quality, accessible early childhood care, and pre-kindergarten for all to ensure that all children come into the K-12 school environment on an equal footing in terms of their ability to learn academic subjects.

EY 2.3

Provide resources and programming to achieve the goal of all third graders reading at third grade level, to increase their likelihood of future academic and career success.

EY 2.4

Provide systems, support, and resources to support graduation from high school, addressing the needs and challenges of individual students. Provide youth nearing the point of graduation and their families with information, support, and opportunity to pursue higher education, training, and/or work experience to fit their goals.

EY 2.5

Provide equitable access to and distribution of affordable out-of-school activities, technology, and healthy physical activities.

EY 2.6

Develop educational facilities, campuses, and systems that can flexibly respond to evolving ways that educational opportunities may be provided and support innovative use of land and buildings for this purpose. Site schools in a manner that provides convenient countywide access, anchors communities, invites parental involvement, and promotes the health of students.

EY Goal 3

Provide Nashville’s families and caregivers with access to the resources, support systems, and opportunities they need for their children to be safe and healthy and achieve academic and life success.

EY 3.1

Provide parents and caregivers the opportunities, resources, and support they need to succeed, reduce their stress, and allow them to dedicate more time and energy to their children.

EY 3.2

Ensure that all children and youth are living in safe and supportive home environments.

EY Goal 4

Make Nashville’s neighborhoods safe, accessible, and welcoming for families so that they provide opportunities for play, learning, and social engagement that help children and youth thrive.

EY 4.1

Ensure that Nashville’s neighborhoods and public places are safe and welcoming.

EY 4.2

Provide genuine access to the elements necessary for healthy and successful lives—ample parks and open spaces with structured activities for families to promote active lifestyles; transit; healthy food options; access to health care services, libraries, schools, community centers, jobs, entertainment, and other neighborhood-based services.

EY 4.3

Provide educational facilities/campuses and other civic institutions such as libraries within neighborhoods that serve as neighborhood hubs and meet the unique needs of the neighborhood.

EY 4.4

Ensure that Nashville’s neighborhoods are welcoming and accessible to all by ensuring affordability and transportation choices.

EY 4.5

Increase civic engagement to provide youth a voice in the growth of the city and in decisions that will impact their lives, such as the education system, libraries, transit, activities, and parks and recreation.

HOUSING

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Housing is a basic human need. It is a source of comfort and shelter for our families and is a reflection of our individual selves. The right home can heal, protect, and restore, serving as a vessel of our family memories and a refuge from the outside world. The lack of a home can impede participation in civic life, like voting, or seeking a job.

Housing is also critical to our local economy and is a source of personal economic stability. It is one of the largest purchases that a person will make. A home is typically a family’s largest investment and asset, particularly for minorities, where stocks and other similar investments are less common. A home’s equity can help pay for college tuition, retirement, or for the initial investment in a small business.

Housing can also be the source of economic instability for a community, as we saw during the Great Recession. Falling home prices and highly leveraged mortgages can impact banking and credit systems, consumer spending, employment, and the job market. Thus, housing impacts not only our residents, but our city as a whole. Housing can also be a source of economic instability for individuals if housing options (such as options in type, rental or owner-occupied, and price) are not available as families and people age and grow. Providing housing for all Nashvillians is necessary for active and productive residents, stable neighborhoods, and a stronger city. Housing is a significant component of planning for Nashville’s future.

Housing Goals and Policies

H Goal 1

Nashville maintains economic and social diversity. Housing choices are affordable, available, and accessible to all new and existing Nashvillians.

H Policy 1.1

Develop innovative financing programs to provide affordable housing for all Nashvillians.

H Policy 1.2

Develop standards that guide the design, location, and construction of affordable housing across all neighborhoods.

H Policy 1.3

Provide real transit options to lessen the cost burden, and increase housing affordability. Provide real transit options to also access affordable housing, jobs, services and amenities.

H Policy 1.4

Provide access to affordable housing and support programs for the homeless and Nashvillians with very low incomes.

H Policy 1.5

Support private, public, and nonprofit housing providers so that they can provide safe, accessible, and affordable housing.

H Goal 2

Nashville has a strong and diverse housing market that embraces changing housing demand.

H Policy 2.1

Create real housing choices in rural, suburban, and urban areas that respect the rural, suburban, and urban development patterns.

H Policy 2.2

Create tools that encourage context sensitive development in Nashville’s neighborhoods. Work with developers to develop in a context sensitive manner.

Goals and Policies

» Goals set broad direction for the plan by applying the Guiding Principles to NashvilleNext’s seven plan elements. They identify, for each element, what NashvilleNext is trying to achieve. » Policies extend goals by providing more detail. They give more direct guidance on community decision making, without specifying which tools to use. (Identifying and adopting which tool is a job for actions and implementation.) As implementation occurs, if one particular tool is rejected by the public, the policy guidance remains.

H Goal 3

Reduce the negative effects of gentrification in Nashville’s growing residential markets. Ensure that residents of all incomes and both renters and owners take part in and benefit from neighborhood improvements.

H Policy 3.1

Create programs that reduce displacement and exclusion within changing neighborhoods. Create programs that focus on the social, financial, and physical effects of neighborhood change.

H Policy 3.2

Create more transit, public services, and employment in suburban areas to make these communities easier to live, work, and play in regardless of the residents’ income.

H Goal 4

Nashville’s neighborhoods have strong community networks that include residents and supportive organizations and services. The way the neighborhood is built—with homes, parks, streets, and services—promotes real access and social interaction.

H Policy 4.1

Create strong neighborhoods by enhancing existing neighborhood programs and public processes. Empower more residents to take part in policy and decision making.

H Policy 4.2

Strengthen neighborhoods by making them safe and easy to get to and around. Pay special attention to safety and access for Nashvillians who are disabled, elderly, or have very low incomes.

HEALTH, LIVABILITY & THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT

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The built environment includes all of the things people build in a city, such as buildings, streets, sidewalks, parks, water pipes, and sewers, and how those things relate to one another. The built environment shapes Nashvillians’ opportunities for health and wellness in daily life, whether it is minimizing exposure to air and water pollution, creating inviting public spaces that encourage physical activity, or providing access to employment, entertainment, shopping, and services. Nashville’s built environment also creates festive public spaces and enjoyable walks to, and desirable locations for, restaurants, shops, parks, schools, and cultural attractions. A quality built environment encourages activity and face-to-face encounters.

Public spaces—streets and sidewalks, parks and buildings—need to be designed to work for the young and old and for people with disabilities. At some point in their lives, every person is included in a limited mobility category—unable to drive on their own or navigate hazardous roads on foot. Children need safe spaces to learn and grow independent. People with disabilities need safe spaces to access work and live self-sufficient lives. Aging adults—particularly baby boomers, who will account for a 32

percent increase in the number of people over the age of 65 in the next 25 years—need these spaces to be able to comfortably and safely live in their current neighborhoods as they grow older and less mobile. Designing our public spaces with a person’s total life cycle in mind will create places that are welcoming to everyone.

Managing the built environment also means planning for our infrastructure. Infrastructure includes all of the different equipment, structures, and facilities that Metro Nashville and major utility companies provide that link together services and support daily life. These are generally large-scale physical investments. Transportation infrastructure includes our roads, sidewalks, bike lanes, greenways, and bus routes and facilities. Energy infrastructure includes power lines and transformers (provided and maintained by Nashville Electric Service), as well as gas lines (provided and maintained privately). Water pipes, water plants, sewers, swales and ditches, detention ponds, and even roads are part of our water, sewer, and stormwater infrastructure.

Health, Livability & the Built Environment

Goals and Policies

BE Goal 1

All Nashville residents have a choice of vibrant, safe, and healthy neighborhoods across many different communities and contexts.

BE Policy1.1

Preserve residential character in established neighborhoods, while accommodating housing options that meet Nashville’s changing needs.

BE Policy 1.2

Create safe, walkable community, retail, and employment centers across the county that fit within each community's context and character and meet the needs for people of all ages and abilities.

BE Policy 1.3

Encourage the development, redevelopment, or improvement of property, buildings, and landscapes to promote safety and reduce opportunities for crime.

BE Goal 2

Nashville promotes the safety and wellness of its residents, workers, and visitors.

BE Policy 2.1

Encourage physical activity and promote social and mental well-being by improving public spaces (such as public streets, sidewalks, and parks), reducing barriers to all pedestrians, and providing green space.

BE Policy 2.2

Improve the health quality of Nashville’s air, water, light, and land, both outside and indoors.

BE Policy 2.3

Improve mental health and wellbeing of Nashville residents through advocacy, education, research, and service.

Goals and Policies

» Goals set broad direction for the plan by applying the Guiding Principles to NashvilleNext’s seven plan elements. They identify, for each element, what NashvilleNext is trying to achieve. » Policies extend goals by providing more detail. They give more direct guidance on community decision making, without specifying which tools to use. (Identifying and adopting which tool is a job for actions and implementation.) As implementation occurs, if one particular tool is rejected by the public, the policy guidance remains.

BE Policy 2.4

Ensure all neighborhoods have healthy food options—including locally grown food—particularly neighborhoods with low levels of car ownership.

BE Policy 2.5

Increase connections to the network of accessible greenways, creeks, and rivers that connects Nashville residents to nature throughout Davidson County.

BE Policy 2.6

Host active and passive activities and amenities at community parks and open spaces for people of all ages.

BE Goal 3

Nashvillians have equitable access to goods, services, multiple modes of transportation, and public safety.

BE Policy 3.1

Support access throughout the county for all users (including walkers, cyclists, transit riders, and drivers) of roadways and greenways.

BE Policy 3.2

Match transportation infrastructure to the needs of police, fire, and emergency medical personnel to maintain response times and keep residents, workers, and visitors safe.

BE Policy 3.3

Ensure equitable access to high speed Internet service throughout the county and adapt online services to mobile Internet users.

BE Policy 3.4

Support communities by diversifying the use of public buildings and facilities in the services they offer (such as libraries, schools, community centers, and police and fire stations).

BE Policy 3.5

Facilitate the access of health and wellness services to meet changing health care needs.

BE Policy 3.6

Maintain infrastructure and programs to keep the public safe during emergencies.

BE Goal 4

Nashville is welcoming and our residents care for and support one another.

BE Policy 4.1

Recognize and bridge cultural differences and language barriers when providing services and engaging the public in community decisions.

BE Policy 4.2

Ensure that special impact uses are located in a manner that acknowledges the need for, and benefit from, special impact areas, while seeking to protect the safety and quality of life for all nearby residents. Avoid concentrating too many special impact areas in any one community.

BE Policy 4.3

Use the design of public space to enhance the unique identities of Nashville neighborhoods and communities.

BE Policy 4.4

Celebrate Nashville’s diverse faith communities and their role in shaping Nashville’s history.

BE Policy 4.5

Create opportunities to increase fellowship and build relationships throughout the county and in individual neighborhoods.

BE Goal 5

Nashville’s buildings will be healthy, attractive, affordable, and easily accessible, supporting social, environmental, and economic performance.

BE Policy 5.1

Encourage new construction and major renovations, retrofitting, and upgrading of existing buildings to improve environmental performance of the building and site.

BE Policy 5.2

Encourage the creation of high-performance, quality architecture throughout Davidson County, especially in key centers of activity.

BE Policy 5.3

Preserve historic structures and landmarks that represent our county’s identity.

BE Policy 5.4

Encourage flexibility in re-use and expansion of historic buildings to preserve character and maintain affordability. Standards should follow the Secretary of Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation, as noted in State law and the Metro ordinance.

BE Policy 5.5

Require that new Metro buildings are third-party certified for energy and efficiency and enhance the communities in which they are located.

NATURAL RESOURCES & HAZARD ADAPTATION

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Nashville is a uniquely beautiful place with a natural character distinguished by rolling hills, steep bluffs, gentle valleys, flat floodplains, thick forests, and numerous rivers and streams. Parks and lakes, both big and small, are havens for wildlife and for people looking to escape the fast pace of the city.

Nashville includes over 2,500 miles of waterways, three large lakes, and over 38,000 acres of floodplains. It has 87 known caves, 30 species of breeding birds, and 108 rare terrestrial and aquatic species, including the Nashville Crayfish, an endangered species that is unique to the Mill Creek watershed. Nashville also has cedar glades that are not found anywhere else in the world. Nashvillians want to maintain and enhance the natural resources that make the region unique, attractive, and livable.

Nashville’s natural areas and green spaces provide places of scenic beauty and are important for recreation and socialization. Natural areas also provide habitat for plants and animals, help clean our air and water,

provide our drinking water, slow down and absorb stormwater runoff, help decrease air temperatures on extremely hot days, grow our food, stabilize steep hillsides, and mitigate the negative effects of natural disasters and extreme weather events. In recent years, Nashville has experienced record-setting weather, which has threatened businesses, residences, and the health and well-being of our residents. These events include the record-setting rainfall that led to the 2010 flood. The damage caused to life and property by the 2010 flood and related landslides was enormous, yet the city’s natural features—such as floodplains and tree cover—ensured that the damage and loss of life and property was not worse. In the aftermath of the flood, Nashville has come to value its natural areas even more for the protections they provide to the city from hazards such as extreme weather events.

On a day-to-day basis, having quality natural areas betters the quality of life for people, plants, and animals. Nashville’s projected population growth could degrade the current quality of life and jeopardize Nashville’s natural and built environment. In addition to the pressure of sheer growth, demographic changes—such as the growth of baby boomers and millennials seeking more compact, walkable communities; the increase of single-person households—will also drive new locations and forms of development in our communities. A renewed emphasis on public outreach, education, and personal responsibility will activate new stewardship to conserve energy, eliminate and reduce waste, preserve land, build high performance buildings, and create a culture of sustainability. Meanwhile, public policies, incentives, and private decision making must provide a clear direction on what to preserve and how to build and grow our city in a more sustainable fashion than we do today. This will enable us to secure the best Nashville for current and future generations.

Goals and Policies

» Goals set broad direction for the plan by applying the Guiding Principles to NashvilleNext’s seven plan elements. They identify, for each element, what NashvilleNext is trying to achieve. » Policies extend goals by providing more detail. They give more direct guidance on community decision making, without specifying which tools to use. (Identifying and adopting which tool is a job for actions and implementation.) As implementation occurs, if one particular tool is rejected by the public, the policy guidance remains.

Natural Resources & Hazard Adaptation

Goals and Policies

NR goal 1

Nashville invests in and increases its natural environment for beauty, biodiversity, recreation, food production, resiliency, and response to climate change through mitigation and adaptation strategies.

NR policy 1.1

Prioritize water quality and conservation by protecting the Cumberland River and its tributaries.

NR policy 1.2

Provide resources such as land, sustained funding, staffing, and policies to maintain a growing parks and natural infrastructure network.

NR policy 1.3

Develop a secure and sustainable local food system that supports our local farmers and growers.

NR policy 1.4

Preserve Nashville’s existing tree canopy including urban trees, street trees, and larger tracts of forested lands.

NR policy 1.5

Invest in robust and diversified infrastructure including transportation choices which prioritize the maintenance of existing streets, expansion of mass transit service, and the creation of more walking and biking options in order to reduce sprawling development patterns, improve air and water quality, and preserve existing open spaces in Nashville.

NR goal 2

All communities in Nashville enjoy equally high levels of environmental protection, equitable access to nature, and opportunities to improve their health and quality of life.

NR policy 2.1

Diversify participation in the policy making and implementation of Nashville’s local services relating to infrastructure, land use, transportation, and parks.

NR policy 2.2

Increase access to recreational opportunities that distinguish Nashville, improve quality of life, and support the local economy.

NR goal 3

Nashville’s built environment—public, private, and residential—conserves and efficiently uses land, energy, water, and resources while reducing waste and pollution.

NR policy 3.1

Establish and implement citywide energy reduction goals and target percentages of renewable energy sources with input from key stakeholders.

NR policy 3.2

Establish a wide-ranging green education campaign that focuses on the “why” and “how” for water conservation, energy efficiency and reductions, recycling and waste reduction, natural resources preservation, and outdoor activity.

NR policy 3.3

Metropolitan Government buildings should lead the city in energy efficiency by modeling with oversight best practices to meet the city’s green initiatives which reduce energy and water consumption and shift to renewable energy sources.

NR goal 4

Nashville’s built and natural environment is resilient, sustainable, and smart because it adapts to and mitigates the impact of climate change involving extreme weather, hazards, and catastrophes.

NR policy 4.1

Identify threats to current and future infrastructure related to climate change including extreme weather, hazards, and catastrophes.

NR policy 4.2

Establish policies that encourage resiliency and mitigate the effects of climate change leading to weather extremes, hazards, and catastrophes.

NR policy 4.3

Prepare for and quickly respond to extreme weather, hazards, and catastrophes by creating, implementing, and communicating contingency plans with smart and connected infrastructure.

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IMPLEMENTATION

How a plan moves from vision to reality is critical. Community leaders and community members have clear expectations that their work on NashvilleNext will be carried forward and be made real. This section explains the tools that NashvilleNext has to make this vision a reality.

Parts of the plan

Each part of the plan has a role to play. Some parts are broad and visionary, while others are specific and detailed. This section helps users of the plan understand how the parts fit together and support one another. No part of the plan is intended to stand alone; each can only be understood as working together with the rest of the plan.

Guiding Principles

The Guiding Principles present the long-term view of what Nashvillians want for their future. Throughout the process, they guided more detailed work, helping to ensure all key topics were addressed by the plan. Once adopted, they provide long-range context for why individual goals and policies are included in the plan. As the plan gets minor amendments and major updates over time, the Guiding Principles should be changed the least, barring a substantial change in situation or public sentiment.

NashvilleNext Elements

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Arts, Culture & Creativity

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Economic & Workforce Development

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Education & Youth

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Housing

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Land Use, Transportation & Infrastructure

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Natural Resources & Hazard Adaptation

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Health, Livability & the Built Environment

Elements

The seven plan elements are the major topics for the plan to address. Their policy direction takes two forms: goals and policies. Taken together, the seven elements form Volume II of the plan.

» Goals set broad direction for the plan by applying the Guiding Principles to NashvilleNext’s seven plan elements. They identify, for each element, what NashvilleNext is trying to achieve. » Policies extend goals by providing more detail. They give more direct guidance on community decision making, without specifying which tools to use. (Actions, below, recommend the tools that should be used to implement the policies.) As implementation occurs, if one particular tool is rejected by the public, the policy guidance remains. » Policy Maps give geographic guidance for decision-making. If Policies say what should happen, Policy Maps say where it should or should not happen. They help to coordinate investments (such as priorities for transit or new greenways) and reflect community expectations for the future of an area.

The Growth & Preservation Concept Map is the central Policy Map, providing the highest level view of how NashvilleNext’s different elements come together. Other maps provide further detail. In particular, Community Character Maps (included in each Community Plan in Volume III) give more detailed land use guidance for zoning and subdivision decisions. » Actions, included in Volume IV, provide specific tasks to carry out the Policies. Actions are intended to be updated regularly, as they are completed. If an action is found to be the wrong tool to accomplish a policy, the policy guidance still holds; a new approach should be identified.

Communities

Nashville’s Community Plans—originally attached as amendments to Concept 2010—are here incorporated into NashvilleNext as Volume III, replacing all previously adopted versions. They provide history and context for Nashville’s 14 Community Planning Areas, along with community-specific issues, strategies, and sketches of how different places in the community could change over time. Finally, detailed Community Character Maps link the broad, countywide Growth & Preservation Concept Map to character policies that guide zoning and development decisions.

The Community Character Manual, also in Volume III, provides detailed explanations of the character policies used in the Community Character Maps.

Actions

These are specific tasks for Metro departments and non-Metro partners to undertake, within a recommended timeframe. An initial action plan is included as Volume IV, but will be maintained online to provide up-to-date reports on progress.

Access Nashville 2040

Volume V is the overarching vision of how transportation works under NashvilleNext. It contains three more detailed plans that address key components of Nashville’s transportation system.

First, the Major & Collector Street Plan guides how Metro manages its transportation rights of way—the land it has the right to use for the transportation system. The Major & Collector Street Plan identifies how much land is needed for different kinds of roadways in the county, as well as how different travel modes (auto traffic, transit, bikes, and pedestrians) are accommodated in each roadway.

Second, the Strategic Plan for Sidewalks and Bikeways enables Metro to effectively plan and implement facilities that improve safety, enhance mobility, and promote a higher quality of life. The plan provides Metro with a blueprint for making walking and bicycling attractive, safe, and practical transportation options for citizens throughout Nashville and Davidson County.

Finally, nMotion, the MTA Transit Master Plan guides transit operations and improvements in the near term (five years), as well as with an eye toward the long-term system Nashvillians need.

How plans become reality

By their nature, plans are implemented slowly. The built environment changes even more slowly, especially across an entire county. Changes rarely happen immediately when a plan is adopted. Instead, plans typically identify a workplan that must then carried out over the course of several years. Regulations must be studied, formulated, debated, and adopted. Proposals for staffing must be incorporated into budgets, where they compete with other priorities. New proposals for capital improvements must be incorporated into capital planning processes, budgeted for, designed, and then built.

These decisions are always made in the context of the day. Any number of things affect how quickly plans are implemented, such as:

» Changes in the economy » Concerns over the business environment and tax rates » Outside funding sources » The complexity of complying with new regulations

Community members may be wary of changes to regulations or new approaches to infrastructure. They look to pilot projects or introducing regulatory changes on a small scale first. These slow implementation, but they also allow everyone to understand the effect of new policies or construction techniques.

At right, two timelines show the long arc of implementing plans or changing how we build infrastructure. For example, in the case of downtown, the prior General Plan, Concept 2010, called for a 24-hour downtown, with homes, shopping, and tourism complementing downtown’s offices. At the time, downtown zoning prohibited homes. Concept 2010’s vision was gradually achieved over the next 20 years.

A 24-hour downtown

Nashville’s current General Plan, Concept 2010, called for revitalizing downtown as a place for 24-hour living, expanding beyond businesses to include residences, shopping, and tourist destinations. Getting there has been a long road, one that is not yet complete. Here are some key events in revitalizing downtown:

Bicycling and sidewalk amenities

Sidewalks used to be a standard feature of new neighborhoods. As cars became more widespread and the demand for homes with large yards grew, they were abandoned as too costly. Neighborhoods were built without sidewalks through Nashville and Davidson County for decades. The slow process of restoring sidewalks as a standard part of neighborhoods has involved federal legislation, constant refinements to Subdivision Regulations, the need for a long-term view as to how major corridors evolve, and redevelopment.

Implementation Goals and Policies

IM 1

Nashvillians rightfully expect their participation in this plan to change Metro Nashville’s policies, regulations, actions, and investments toward achieving their vision for the future.

NashvilleNext is first and foremost a community developed statement providing a vision for the desired future of the community together with the principles, goals, policies, and actions required to attain that vision.

Through its adoption, NashvilleNext becomes a guiding tool for the Planning Commission. Its three primary powers draw from the Commission’s power: to shape the physical form of the county through plans and land development regulations; to recommend projects to be included in each year’s capital improvements budget; and to manage public buildings, facilities, roads, and rights-of-way with an eye toward the community’s long-term needs.

Because these three powers touch on so many different aspects of life in Nashville, it is critical that this plan also serve as a place to coordinate related activities and efforts. This coordination happens in two ways. First, other Metro departments should consult NashvilleNext as they develop their own long-range plans and programs. Second, Metro should partner with other groups—nonprofits, as well as community, business, and neighborhood groups—pursuing goals related to the plan.

NashvilleNext includes many recommendations beyond these three powers. It can do this for three reasons.

First, these powers are closely intertwined with other actions that Metro takes. Taking a broader approach allows for better coordination.

Second, this plan represents considerable public input, on a scale far larger than any other single project, other than voting in elections. Moreover, NashvilleNext builds on Nashville’s ongoing community planning program, a 25-year effort to involve people across the county in shaping the future of their communities.

Third, this plan should be monitored and updated annually. Regularly updating the plan keeps it relevant in the face of unforeseen changes, trends, and actions. This gives real teeth to its role in coordination. As partners succeed or struggle, NashvilleNext can recognize this. As other departments encounter problems or identify new opportunities to implement the plan, NashvilleNext should be updated to maintain its relevance.

IM 2

Nashvillians are regularly informed about progress in implementing the plan and in achieving the plan’s goals.

A general plan is not a blueprint. It is a guide to decisions and actions. As a plan ages and is implemented, new opportunities arise and different compromises are reached than were originally envisioned by the plan. As this happens, a static plan becomes less and less relevant over time, until it stops being meaningful and used completely.

Therefore, NashvilleNext should be reviewed annually. This review should include:

» An assessment of what’s been done to implement the plan » An assessment of where new development is happening » Updated metrics to assess progress in achieving the vision

This review should be submitted to the Planning Commission for acceptance at a public hearing. The hearing allows an opportunity for the community to validate or propose amendments to NashvilleNext.

Once accepted by the Commission, it should be submitted to the Mayor and Metro Council prior to the start of the annual budget process.

IM 2.1

Report on progress, including successes, and obstacles, in implementing the plan.

IM 2.2

Assess progress toward achieving the vision Nashvillians identified in the plan.

IM 2.3

Monitor the location, character, and effects of new private development.

IM 3

NashvilleNext is regularly updated to remain relevant to future decisions.

Each year, decisions that adjust the course charted by NashvilleNext should be incorporated to keep the plan from becoming out of date. In most cases, these will be minor adjustments that only need be recorded. In some cases, these may entail major changes of direction that trigger the need to update some or all of the plan.

Additionally, the public should be consulted every five years to see if the plan’s vision and policies are still representative and appropriate. The intent of major updates is a considered approach to changing policies, rather than keeping the plan in line as decisions are made. Why might an update be needed? Changing vision from Nashvillians (including insight from changing market demand, implementation, or community plans), changing circumstances (state/federal law, national/international trends). Major amendments may update the entire plan, or focus on only one or more elements or sections.

IM 3.1

Make amendments to Volumes I, II, IV, and V annually to reflect minor changes.

IM 3.2

Consider amendments to Volume III (Community Plans) by direction of Planning Commission to support NashvilleNext or with requests for re-zoning.

IM 3.3

Review the plan for major updates at least once every five years, or as needed, based on annual reports and updates, as determined by the Planning Commission.

IM 4

NashvilleNext supports public-, private-, and nonprofit-sector coordination.

Incorporating policies from NashvilleNext into other departments’ plans, programs, and policies extends the community’s vision beyond the powers of the Planning Commission.

Many of the actions included in the plan go beyond what Metro alone can accomplish. NashvilleNext recognizes Nashville’s tradition of public-private partnerships and strong civic and nonprofit sectors. The actions engage the entire community in working toward Nashville’s future. With a strong commitment to annual updates and review, NashvilleNext is able to play a key role in coordinating with other agencies and plans. It helps other departments understand long-term goals and how their work implements these goals, even if they must focus on short-term needs that are out of step with the long-term plan. For example, the long-term vision for transit is to build a high capacity transit network operating along major corridors, with few deviations from those corridors. In the short term, MTA needs to conduct its operations to connect to riders, who may not live along those major corridors. Eventually, MTA operations should merge with the long-range vision, but it will take time to build the infrastructure and housing to support the high capacity network.

Aligning Department Master Plans with NashvilleNext can streamline creating each year’s capital budget (see IM 5 below).

This is why the Element chapters (Volume II) highlight related plans when discussing NashvilleNext Goals & Policies.

Much of what Nashvillians want for the future goes beyond what Metro can achieve on its own. Partnerships with community groups, nonprofits, and the private sector are critical.

Middle Tennessee’s economy and places are closely linked together, with residents crossing county lines in all directions to work, shop, live, and play. Coordinating regionally is critical to improving quality of life and remaining economically competitive in Nashville and the region.

IM 4.1

Provide usable, relevant information to public, private, and nonprofits engaged in short- and long-term planning or program development.

IM 4.2

Incorporate appropriate recommended changes from public, private, or nonprofit partners into NashvilleNext through the annual update process, as determined by the Planning Commission.

IM 5

Nashville creates and uses appropriate, available tools to achieve the plan’s goals and implement its policies.

As Nashville’s general plan, NashvilleNext sets out a vision for what Nashville wants to be in the future. Land development regulations are an important tool used to achieve that vision. Where we lack the tools that we need to achieve the vision, NashvilleNext will recommend creating them and show how the tool should relate to other elements in the plan. For example, two major themes of NashvilleNext are improving affordability and expanding transit. While these can be pursued independently, they are most effective when done together. NashvilleNext provides recommendations for the use of existing and new tools to achieve goals in these areas.

If regulations are an important tool within our toolbox for shaping the future of the city, the zoning code and the rezoning process are how we select and apply tools to particular pieces of land. This, too, should be guided by Volume III of NashvilleNext (the Community Plans). An outcome that is appropriate for one part of the county—requiring rural character, for example—may not be appropriate in another part of the county (downtown, for instance) and our regulatory tools must be designed and applied to achieve the desired community.

Rezonings may occur as individual property owners decide to change how they use their property. They may also be initiated by Metro, as a way to implement this plan.

In some cases, more detailed planning is needed for particular areas before rezonings occur or new investments are made. These small-area plans (which in the past have included transportation studies and detailed neighborhood design plans) provide a much more fine-grained look at small parts of the county and provide detailed guidance on investments to make, including road improvements, sidewalks, bikelanes, and streetscapes, and zoning guidance. Small-area plans provide a link between the broad direction of NashvilleNext, concerns from nearby residents and businesses, and the final tools for implementation.

The Metro Charter requires that the Planning Commission recommend to the Mayor a list of projects each year for a capital improvements budget. NashvilleNext’s annual reports should inform each year’s capital improvements budget, as well as longer-term capital needs. Departments submit a list of recommended projects to the Planning Commission. Each project will be prioritized, recognizing alignment with Mayor and Council priorities, NashvilleNext, health and safety needs, and leveraging outside funding. This information will be provided to Planning Commission as part of its discussion and decision on which projects to recommend that year. Updated information will be provided to the Mayor, Metro Council, and the public to inform deliberation on each year’s budget.

IM 5.1

Adopt regulations and incentives to guide private development to achieve community goals identified in NashvilleNext.

IM 5.2

Apply regulations to rezonings, subdivision, site plans, and other development decisions in line with NashvilleNext.

IM 5.3

Use small-area plans, design studies, design overlays, and other detailed plans when more fine-grained regulations or community discussions are required.

IM 5.4

Ensure changes to public facilities, buildings, and rights of way are aligned with NashvilleNext.

IM 5.5

Give priority to projects in each year’s capital improvements plan that address immediate life, safety, or legal needs; reflect Council and Mayor priorities; or are aligned with NashvilleNext.

IM 5.6

Align Metro’s organizational structure, programs, and operations to improve quality of life, achieve the community’s vision for Nashville’s future, and maintain efficient governmental operations.