Measurable Outcomes in Planning

Joseph HorwedelCity of San Jose

What is a good measure of planning?

What should we measure to show success?

Should we measure / report what we do not control?

How do we measure long term benefits?

What level should we measure planning?

- Neighborhood, City, County?

City of San Jose

Input Performance Targets• Miles of trails per capita• Books per person• Traffic LOS D• Acres parkland per 1,000 pop

Process Performance Targets• Called applicant with/in 3 days of

submittal• Draft Permit conditions to applicant

prior to hearing• Project comments provided within

target• Number of review cycles per project

Bringing Measurement to Planning: Dashboards in San Jose

1/3rd mile walking distance to park

Measuring accessibility of amenities to neighborhoods

Online Community Profile Tools

Measuring complete neighborhoods.

Envision 2040 Plan adding measures for access to:•Parks, trails, and open space •Neighborhood retail, fresh foods •Library and community center •Faith community and non profits•Quality schools•Public transit•Jobs location and type

Setting Achievable Service Targets

Don’t go looking for the perfectperformance measure. It doesn’texist. So, start with a good measureor two. Identify their flaws.Be alert for them. Can you livewith them? Make some

adjustments?Still, you’ll never eliminate all of the

flaws. Get over it.

Bob Behn, Kennedy School of Government

Measuring in a City of a Million PeopleWe need to decide what to measure

at what level:Citywide level• Jobs to employed residents

Community Level• Job type and housing• Community center and playing

fields

Neighborhood Level• Park / tot lots access • Fresh foods and local retail

San Jose Planning Areas -Community Level

At the Neighborhood Level

New tools to measure plans

Walkscore.com - San Jose

My neighborhood walkability

Just down the street ... a 91 score

What that 91 score looks like...

What it looks like to the public

Online Tools Home Buyers use

More Groups are Measuring Us

Reporting Progress

Assessing Your Progress

Are outputs or results achieving the desired outcome?

Assessing Your ProgressBe aware of distortions in your

progress• Targets can encourage perverse

behaviors• “Teaching to the Test”

What get measured gets donePeter DruckerUsing outputs to measure the

performance ofan agency or an individual can drive

public employeesto maximize the outputs while ignoring

the outcomes.

Evaluate the tool results also

Communicate the Progress!!• Talk with your

community about the results

• Publish quarterly and annual reports

• Make sure your elected officials know

• Find opportunities to celebrate

Measurable Outcomes in Planning

Joseph HorwedelCity of San Jose