Our Mission

Plan New Hampshire, The Foundation for Shaping the Built Environment (PLAN NH), is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization formed in 1989.

Our purpose is to contribute to the quality of life in New Hampshire by promoting excellence in sustainable planning, design and development of the built environment.

We seek to accomplish this through a variety of approaches including community-based visioning, recognition of excellence in sustainable planning, design and development and in supporting the educational advancement of highly promising professional practitioners.

Our New Hampshire-focused membership is comprised of architects, landscape architects, engineers, planners, building and real estate professionals, lawyers, financial and insurance firms and others with an interest in promoting and implementing environmentally, economically and socially sustainable communities. This diversity of membership brings a unique variety of views and perspectives to our approach to shaping New Hampshire’s built environment.

We are champions of Smart Growth. This means that we promote development that:

• Is consistent with the scale and density of town and city centers, and enhances their quality, vitality and livability
• Preserves historic architectural character, natural resources, and the rural landscape
• Encourages collaboration within and among communities
• Is sustainable in that it:
• Reduces or eliminates contribution to fossil fuel dependence and the use of scarce metals and minerals;
• Reduces or eliminates dependence upon persistent chemicals and wasteful use of synthetic substances;
• Reduces or eliminates encroachment upon nature (i.e. land, water, wildlife, forests, soil, ecosystems);
• Meets human needs fairly and efficiently (i.e. affordable housing, locally-based business and food production, using waste as a resource, eco-industrial development, participatory planning and development)**

PLAN NH fulfills its mission through:

• The Community Design Charrette program - an exercise in which local citizens and PLAN NH volunteers come together to explore potential solutions to planning or design issues in individual New Hampshire towns.
• Informational programming for members and others interested in sustainable design and development in the communities in which they work and/or live.
• Recognition of outstanding examples of work that reflects PLAN NH’s Mission through a Merit Awards program.
• Scholarship and Fellowship programs that support New Hampshire students who have a demonstrated interest in the impact of the built environment on New Hampshire’s quality of life.

^{** adapted from The Natural Step for Communities: how cities and towns can change to sustainable practices by Sarah James and Torbjorn Lahti. New Society Publishers, c2004}