Coordinating Michigan Land Use Efforts for Greater Impact

Improved coordination of Michigan State University’s (MSU) vast resources in land-use research, outreach, and education has led to better service for citizens, local officials, and municipalities. MSU and its partner in this endeavor, Public Sector Consultants, Inc. (PSC), have developed new tools to inform decision makers in the public and private sectors about the responsible utilization of land resources.

“As Michigan’s pioneer land grant university, Michigan State University has long been a hotbed of land-use research and outreach,” said Soji Adelaja, MSU John A. Hannah Distinguished Professor in Land Policy.  “The grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation has provided essential support to help coordinate and integrate those resources.”

Key accomplishments include:

• Gap analyses of MSU’s land-use research and outreach capabilities.


• Seminars on land use and capacity building for freshman state legislators via MSU’s Legislative Leadership Program, for future policy leaders, via MSU’s Michigan Political Leadership Program, and for local leaders via MSU Extension’s Citizen Planner Program.


• Land-use/land-cover updates for more than 54 Michigan townships.


• A report for the Michigan Land Use Leadership Council on stakeholder input.


• The first statewide survey of local government planning and zoning in more than a decade.


• Support of several conferences, including a statewide land-use summit.


• A new fiscal database for the Michigan Department of Treasury.


• The foundation for a new MSU Land Policy Program and a more formal partnership between MSU and Public Sector Consultants, Inc.

As these initiatives move forward, the core partners brought together by this grant will continue to build land-use resources and linkages across and beyond campus to benefit the state of Michigan. MSU’s Land Policy Program and Public Sector Consultants currently are collaborating on a proposal to administer the next round of funding from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. More information is available at www.ippsr.msu.edu/PPIE/LandUse.