Envisioning a Thriving Border Region

WHAT YOU’LL LEARN

• How to use use multi-cultural public-engagement techniques to gain a more complete base for addressing planning issues
• How to develop local policies to equitably address the complicated issues affecting border regions, such as immigration and colonies
• How to gather and analyze data to examine economic implications of cross-border economics and development patterns

MORE SESSION DETAILS

Planners can play a significant role in addressing broader themes such as immigration, environmental degradation, and hazards. They also have the capacity to facilitate, support, and empower communities engaging multi-cultural stakeholders. Examine visionary ideas on achieving border urban areas that stand as a viable alternative to development along a wall. The long expanse of the Texas-Mexico border shows multi-cultural blending that has produced a wide offering of rich experiences only witnessed in the border region. This raises particular questions: Why is the border of Texas and Mexico not a destination for tourism, enterprise, and the joining of multicultural families? What are the lessons for a changing multi-cultural face of many states? If current proposals at the federal and state levels continue to gain momentum, stronger impediments to crossing the border will be put in place affecting such cultural rich experiences and limiting planning experience outside of the border region. The panel will discuss examples of joint efforts working at the local level to ensure thriving border urban areas and balance local, state, and federal priorities and policies.