Project deliverables:  Project deliverables are separated into two major components - "Planning Analyst" module development, and evaluation and testing of modules in pilot projects. These approximately correspond to major time phases of the project, though development of modules is ongoing and testing will begin before all modules are fully developed. The following is a synopsis of these components as previously proposed.

Development of each of the following modules will be based on: (1) a careful review, analysis and evaluation of existing software packages and their potential to accomplish the objectives of a given module and be linked to other modules, (2) selection of existing packages or development of new software that will best accomplish the desired focus on community-based land use planning, (3) the use of written, graphic and pictorial information specific to locations within Dane County, and (4) citizen/professional participation during module development for feedback on the usefulness, ease of use, and ability of modules to engage and involve citizens and professionals in land use issues.

Because the Public Access module is the module that will drive the proposed electronic interface and Web-site for Dane County, existing attempts to create electronic interfaces will be reviewed and evaluated in order to select, adopt or modify their best features and facilitate integration with other modules that go beyond the information retrieval and display capacities of the interfaces reviewed so far.

Here is a brief explanation of each module:

The Exploration Module will provide a single-source, readily accessible framework for citizens to obtain existing written, graphic and pictorial information about the county's natural and cultural resources, existing land uses, land use plans, and local ordinances. This module will use County data resources and build upon and be integrated with the County's information infrastructure and access mechanisms.

The Analysis Module will provide planning professionals and citizens with the ability to conduct a variety of spatial analyses from data sets that will reside in the module. Examples of analyses that this module could support include systematic evaluation of environmental corridors, establishing farmland protection zones and in other policy-related activities using criteria selected or generated by the users of this module.

The Allocation Module will provide planning professionals and citizens with the ability to participate in the spatial allocation of various land uses and development densities using their own, or mutually agreed-upon, values. They will receive immediate written, statistical, pictorial and graphically-portrayed feedback from the Analysis Module and Impact Assessment Module on the short- and longer-term consequences of their own allocations.

The Impact Assessment Module will provide information about the consequences of alternative land use allocations and policies using the best available land information and impact assessment models. Models of environmental, aesthetic, and economic impacts relevant to the selected pilot project site will be incorporated, such as models concerning loss of farmland, visual alterations, and costs of community services.

The Public Access Module will be coordinated with County information and technology infrastructures, and act as an interface and umbrella under which versions of all other modules reside. Depending upon the ability to integrate this module with overall County information access plans, it will be the point-of-contact for individual citizens to independently become engaged and involved in the land use future of Dane County -- obtaining information about the present, participating in the process, and understanding and visualizing the short- and longer-term consequences of their own value-driven choices, as well as the consequences of land use decisions and policies that may be proposed by others.

Site Selection: One area within Dane County will be selected as demonstration site based on the availability of land information records, the status of their current planning activities, and their willingness to be partners in the development of the project.

Project elements: While the development of the project will evolve based, in part, on ideas and recommendations from citizens and local staff within the selected site and project participants, it is anticipated that two major elements of the demonstration project will be: (1) technology-facilitated land use planning meetings, involving county planning staff supported by "Planning Analyst" software and project technical staff; (2) the creation of a user-friendly "electronic interface" that allows easy access to written and visual "What if ... ?" information relevant to land use planning decisions and prompts local decision-makers, residents, and planning professionals to provide their ideas about specific land use allocations within the selected area.