GNARly Challenges: Planning in Western Gateway and Natural Amenity Regions
Small communities outside of national parks and other major natural amenities throughout the western U.S. are becoming increasingly popular places to visit and live. As a result, many of these gateway and natural amenity region (GNAR) communities—such as Jackson, Wyoming, and Moab, Utah—are facing a variety of “big city” issues, including severe congestion, lack of affordable housing, and concerns about sprawl and density. This presentation will provide an overview of the unique planning and development challenges of GNAR communities, including exploring their particular vulnerability to COVID-19 and related impacts on their social and economic wellbeing. It will also introduce the GNAR Initiative and explore opportunities for ongoing research, education, and capacity building aimed at understanding and assisting GNAR communities in planning for and responding to the challenges they face.
About Danya Rumore
Danya Rumore, Ph.D., is the Director of the Wallace Stegner Center Environmental Dispute Resolution Program, a Research Associate Professor in the City and Metropolitan Planning Department, and a Research Associate Professor in the S. J. Quinney College of Law at the University of Utah. Her scholarship and practice focus on advancing collaborative problem-solving around environmental and public policy issues throughout the mountain west.
Originally from rural North Idaho, Danya has a passion for studying and working with western gateway and natural amenity region (GNAR) communities. She is a founder of the GNAR Initiative, a collaborative effort that brings together diverse academic and non-academic partners to help GNAR communities throughout the west address the challenges they face through research, education, and capacity building.
Danya holds a doctorate in Environmental Policy and Planning from MIT, a Master of Geography from the University of Auckland, New Zealand, and a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science and Natural Resource Economics from Oregon State University. She was the recipient of the 2018 Rob Williams Award for Emerging Environmental and Public Policy Leaders.