Planning Growth - Preserving Character

Gateway communities are the towns, cities, and communities that border public lands such as national and state parks, wildlife refuges, forests, historic sites, wilderness areas, national forests, and other public lands. They offer scenic beauty and a high quality of life that attracts millions of Americans looking to escape traffic congestion, fast tempo and uniformity of cities and suburbs. Gateway communities provide food, lodging, and business for Americans on their way to public lands. They serve as portals to public lands and therefore play an important role in defining the park, forest, or wilderness experience for many visitors. Their beauty, high quality of life, and economic benefits do not come easy. Gateway communities face challenges related to managing growth and development, providing economic prosperity, and preserving their character and sense of place. Parksville, TN is located in extreme southeast Tennessee and is a gateway community to the Cherokee National Forest and the Ocoee River, one of the premier whitewater rivers in the eastern United States. Many rural gateway communities, like Parksville, lack planning and growth strategies. For this reason, among others, they are particularly vulnerable to haphazard growth and development that threaten their economic potential as well as their character and sense of place. The struggles, problems, opportunities, and solutions for gateway communities are explored in this thesis to determine planning and design mechanisms applicable to Parksville. The product of this thesis is a master plan for growth and development as well as conservation and preservation. Embedded in the plan are strategies and mechanisms to build upon and improve the local economy and safeguard natural, cultural, and historic resources. “Proactive Stewardship Planning” is suggested as a useful term to accomplish these ideals.