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Lessons from the Field: Economic Development District Designation

December 16, 2025

So You Want To Be an EDD? An Economic Development District (EDD) designation can be a great way to access federal funding opportunities and align your region’s economic development efforts. However, becoming an EDD presents unique challenges that require time, strong relationships, and the right organizational structure to overcome. NARC staff interviewed economic development planners across the country to understand the pros

How Regional Councils Are Advancing Zoning Reform

October 17, 2025

Welcome Back! Hello everyone and welcome back to the Regions Lead Blog – the National Association of Regional Councils (NARC) blog for all things regional planning and policy. We took a hiatus, but we are back and better than ever! You can expect monthly entries from this blog with policy updates, legislative analysis, and summaries

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UPDATED – 2023 Appropriations Blog Series: Week of July 25

July 13, 2022

The House of Representatives is aiming to pass all 12 appropriations bills before it begins its month long recess on August 1. The first of two “minibuses” was passed on Wednesday, July 20, and the second is expected to be passed later this week. The first minibus includes funding for the Transportation, and Housing and

The Impacts of Too Much Water: NARC’s Water Webinar Series

October 22, 2021

Weather patterns appear to be changing every day. Wet places are now wetter; dry places are now drier; hurricanes and tornadoes are becoming more frequent and violent; and floods and other catastrophes seem more prevalent. We need only look at Hurricane Ida which neared a category 5 storm, the recent flooding in Tennessee, and tornadoes

2021 Project Achievement and Leadership Award Blog Series: Houston-Galveston Area Council: The Regional Conservation Framework

August 31, 2021

The Houston-Galveston Area Council (H-GAC) developed the Regional Conservation Framework to help the region’s local governments coordinate and magnify their conservation efforts.

2021 Project Achievement and Leadership Award Blog Series: San Joaquin Council of Governments: EZHub, Fare-Payments-as-a-Service for the Vamos Mobility App

August 18, 2021

The San Joaquin Council of Governments (SJCOG) partnered with Masabi LLC and their fare-payments-as-a-service product to launch EZHub onto the Vamos Mobility Platform. EZHub provides users with a “one stop shop” for seamless trip planning and ticket purchasing within one page.

2021 Project Achievement and Leadership Award Blog Series: A Conversation with the Honorable Garret Nancolas

August 13, 2021

NARC has a conversation with the Honorable Garret Nancolas, Mayor of the City of Caldwell, Idaho, recipient of the 2021 NARC President’s Award. Mayor Garret Nancolas has served on the Board of Directors of the Community Planning Association of Southwest Idaho (COMPASS) since its inception in 2000 and has represented COMPASS and Region XII on NARC’s Board of Directors since 2016.

2021 Project Achievement and Leadership Award Blog Series: SCAG’s Go Human Kit of Parts: Impacts on Street Level Community Resiliency

August 11, 2021

The Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) developed the active transportation safety and encouragement campaign, Go Human. The goal of the campaign was to reduce injuries and fatalities involving people walking and biking and to increase rates of active transportation.