Planning Sustainable Places

Creating vibrant, connected and green places

The Planning Sustainable Places (PSP) program works to advance integrated local transportation and land use planning and project development actions that support:

Vibrant places that offer a mix of options for housing, jobs, services and recreation.
Connected places with a variety of transportation options.
Green places that support healthy living and a healthy natural environment.

The PSP program promotes concepts consistent with sustainable communities and the advancement of site-specific and project-specific activities within the centers and corridors planning framework.

The program is funded through Surface Transportation Block Grant funding. The Sustainable Places Policy Committee reviews projects submitted by local jurisdictions and eligible organizations. Projects are classified into three planning categories: initial plan to identify needs, project development to further explore needs and concepts, and planning for project implementation to finalize elements before preliminary engineering begins. All projects must meaningfully engage their community in a collaborative dialogue.

Planning Sustainable Places Hub

The Planning Sustainable Places Hub is a centralized location where you can find a variety of resources connected to the PSP program.

The hub contains the following resources:

Project Explorer - provides details and links to all of the studies funded since the program began in 2013.
Atlas - provides a single location for all of the relevant program map layers.
Sustainable Land Use Resource - describes sustainability principles and concepts and explores the interrelationship between those ideas.

Visit the Planning Sustainable Places Hub

Sustainable Places Policy Committee

The Sustainable Places Policy Committee provides leadership and policy advice to MARC’s Board of Directors in regional sustainable development. Under the guidance of the SPPC, MARC works with local communities to update and implement land-use strategies that support transportation, equity, environment and conservation principles.

Sustainable Places Policy Committee

Vibrant Success Stories 2025

Please join us to celebrate local Vibrant Success Stories on Dec. 5. MARC will recognize projects funded through the PSP program that have successfully advanced integrated transportation, land use and environmental planning at the local level. PSP projects support vibrant places, connected places and green places.

2025 honorees

Aerial view of downtown Olathe along Kansas Avenue, with diagonal parking and bump-outs that narrow the road

Top Honors

Kansas Avenue
Downtown Olathe Active Transportation Connectivity Plan, 2019

Olathe City Council and staff have been working to make downtown Olathe a more vibrant "destination place". The old courthouse square, streets and development around downtown were fading with old and outdated infrastructure. Pedestrian facilities were behind what other communities have utilized to transform their downtown areas. And City Council wanted to bring new development and businesses into downtown Olathe.

Goals for this project have included safer crossings for pedestrians across Kansas Avenue, slowing down traffic speeds in the downtown corridor; creating wider sidewalk segments for ease and enjoyment of pedestrians; adding a protected cycle track to connect to existing bike lane networks into downtown; and creating an aesthetically-pleasing atmosphere with tree and flower bed plantings, attractive streetlight fixtures for better lighting, and adding benches and trash cans for multi-modal users.

Rendering of a covered eating area with a large pitched roof and timber aesthetic, surrounded by tall grasses

Vibrant and Green Honors

Downtown Overland Park

Overland Park Downtown Event and Transportation Hub Study, 2017

Recognizing the site's significance as a cultural and community asset, the city initiated a planning effort to evaluate the farmers’ market’s future. The city also understood that any expansion of the market's size or function would require improved transportation access to and from downtown.

As downtown evolved into a walkable, mixed-use district, the City needed to consider transportation beyond just automobiles. The updated 2024 plan includes creating an indoor market space for year-round use; improving the existing outdoor market area with shade structures and a more accessible ground slope; adding access to utilities like power and water for vendors; increasing access to restrooms for vendors, staff, and shoppers; allowing for potential expansion of existing market operations; and maintaining parking spaces during non-market hours.

Aerial view of Overland Park convention center and hotel along the corridor of College & Metcalf

Vibrant and Green Honors

College Boulevard, Lowell to Nall

OP Central Plan, 2017

The OP Central Plan is a land use and transportation planning effort to support the long-term vitality of the College Boulevard Corridor and the Overland Park Convention Center. The plan’s goals were intended to help the City define the corporate campus of the future; address the needs of visitors, employees, and residents to work and recreate in a quality environment; create a gathering place for the City; and define the needs for a walkable environment that supports multiple modes of transportation.

Rendering of Southwest Boulevard improvements with pedestrian median lane and painted crosswalks

Green and Connected Honors

Southwest Boulevard, 31st to Broadway

Southwest Boulevard Transportation Study, 2021

The Southwest Boulevard Transportation Plan focused on creating a safer, more accessible, and culturally vibrant corridor. It addressed traffic safety, pedestrian accessibility, stormwater management, and placemaking, with a clear emphasis on improving quality of life.

Green and Connected Honors

Gillham Road

Gillham Road Corridor Bike Connections Plan, 2017

The Gillham Rd Corridor Bike Connections Plan identified a preferred alternative for a bike facility running along Gillham Rd

The study objective was to establish a preferred cross-section for the roadway to implement improvements for pedestrians and cyclists.