One City, One Plan Draft 1 - 11/5/09

A Plan of Conservation and Development (POCD) is a guideline for asking the right questions, identifying challenges, determining resolutions and implementing strategies. This document is the first draft of the plan and explains the planning process and the implementation of Hartford's POCD. This draft is for discussion only and is subject to public participation process. Click on the underlined title to see each document.

Cover: List of contributing city staff, table of contents, acknowledgements. (.6 MB)

Chapter 1 - Introduction and Background - A Plan of Conservation and Development (POCD) is a guideline for asking the right questions, identifying challenges, determining resolutions and implementing strategies. This document explains the planning process and the implementation of Hartford's POCD. (4.1 MB)

Chapter 2 - Planning Themes - One City, One Plan is guided by five broad planning themes. The themes provide the framework for the plan and are woven throughout the chapters of the POCD, tying together the numerous strategies and goals described in the document. Following is a description of the theme, the goal related to the theme, and list of objectives designed to reach the goal. (1.2 MB)

Chapter 3 - Historic Character - This chapter of the Plan focuses on defining Hartford's historic character, followed by an examination of opportunities to preserve and enhance desired community character elements. (2.2 MB)

Chapter 4 - Demographics - This chapter was developed in order to provide a comprehensive demographic picture of the City of Hartford and its component neighborhoods. This data is intended to help facilitate the capital improvements and general planning process for the City of Hartford. (1.2 MB)

Chapter 5 - Housing - As one of the principal land uses within a community, housing and housing-related issues affect all residents. The City's current housing status is examined in this plan element to determine what housing needs exist and to formulate courses of action to address those needs in the coming decade. (7.2 MB)

Chapter 6 - Development Patterns - Understanding the existing land use patterns of the City is an important component to the Plan of Conservation and Development. Knowledge of where specific types of uses are located, particularly on a parcel basis, can help local officials identify areas that may have potential for economic development or open space protection. This section describes in detail the existing land use composition of Hartford. (2.6 MB)

Chapter 7 - Economic Development - This chapter describes the existing conditions and characteristics of Hartford's economy relative to the regional and State economies, discusses the changes in the City's economic base since the preparation of the previous Plan of Conservation and Development, describes Hartford's future economic development potential and discusses recommended goals and strategies. (1.7 MB)

Chapter 8 - Transportation - Transportation plays a critical role in One City, One Plan, as transportation themes thread through the goals of the plan to promote livable and sustainable neighborhoods, enhance mobility through transit, pedestrian and bike systems city-wide and by advancing downtown's role as the regions center for commerce, culture and city living. A safe, efficient, flexible and economically viable transportation system is essential to ensure that the City of Hartford can continue to grow and prosper. (2.4 MB)

Chapter 9 - Infrastructure and Community Facilities - This section presents an overview of the current inventory of community facilities and municipal infrastructure in Hartford and identifies proposed facility and infrastructure improvements needed to accommodate forecasted residential and non-residential growth or to identify/resolve existing infrastructure problems and problem areas. (1.4 MB)

Chapter 10 - Downtown Plan - The purpose of this plan is to address the Downtown's current conditions and begin to frame a comprehensive vision of the Downtown's future. The plan will also serve to update the existing Downtown Plan which was adopted in 1998. (4.7 MB)

Chapter 11 - Parks and Open Space - The purpose of this chapter is to provide a summary of Hartford's parks, open spaces and natural resources and to recommend ways in which the City's Plan of Conservation and Development can address maintenance of and improvements to these resources. (3.0 MB)

Chapter 12 - Greening Hartford and Sustainable Development - Sustainability has become a wide-ranging term that can be applied to almost every facet of life. Sustainable development can generally be defined as development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. This chapter focuses on the existing efforts and future strategies related to the "greening" of Hartford. (1.5 MB)

Chapter 13 - Neighborhoods - Hartford is a City of fifteen distinct neighborhoods and two commercial/industrial areas. Plans at the neighborhood level are important to residents' quality of life as they often address a very wide scope of issues at a refined level. The POCD outlines the broad policies and direction for the City while the neighborhood plans focus on the street level context that is critical to neighborhood quality of life. Together they provide direction for future investment and patterns of development. (1.2 MB)

Chapter 14 - Generalized Land Use Plan - The Generalized Future Land Use Plan illustrates the proposed pattern of conservation and development for the City of Hartford according to Hartford's vision for 2020. It recommends the most appropriate locations for and relationship between major land uses, including residential development; commercial development; industrial development; mixed use development; areas for community facilities and institutional uses, and areas for conservation and open space. (1.4 MB)