A comprehensive plan created for Cherokee County, Georgia,

A comprehensive plan created for Cherokee County, Georgia, located 20 miles north of Atlanta, calls for growth to be channeled into hamlets, villages and neighborhoods. The plan, which uses overlay zoning to create the traditional mixed-use centers, was based on a Visual Preference Survey conducted by A. Nelessen Associates of Princeton, New Jersey. When presented with images of potential development, residents overwhelmingly preferred traditional village and main street forms over suburban counterparts. “It’s a powerful tool, because to one degree or another residents will always prefer the traditional images over suburbia,” says Troy Jones, design associate with Nelessen.