COEUR d'ALENE - After spending more than a decade as a planning consultant, primarily for various public agencies in several states, Hilary Anderson has narrowed her focus.

"I thought it would be nice to work for just one community where you can be really invested in your projects and see them through," Anderson said. "When you're doing the consulting work you have multiple agencies you work with, with different politics in each of those agencies, and it's hard to follow each of your projects through to fruition."

Anderson said she first became interested in planning while pursuing her undergraduate degree in psychology at the University of Arizona. It was at the university, she said, that she discovered a branch of environmental psychology that focuses on how humans interact with the manmade environments around them.

The discovery, coupled with spending time as a research assistant, prompted the Arizona native to pursue a master's degree in planning.

"I did that (research assistant) before I was even able to get into graduate school and I learned there that I really like the field of planning," Anderson said. "You're really working with people and working with communities and it involves a lot of outreach. So I went through the graduate program."

After receiving her master's degree, she became a consultant which she said enabled her to use her knowledge in both environmental planning and land use. However, when Anderson was between contracts while living in Spokane, an opportunity presented itself to work as the planning and economic development manager for the city of Post Falls.

The opportunity to work for just one agency, in an area of the country she said she loved, was too good to pass up. She was hired and worked for Post Falls for three and a half years.

At the end of November, Anderson was hired by the city of Coeur d'Alene as its director of community planning.

"I love it," Anderson said of the new position. "I think it's a very good fit and I am excited to be here. The city and my own skills and interests align very well."

What does a community planning director do?

It's looking at what the city will look like in the future. To do that, we look at development applications that come through and work with all of the other departments, such as engineering, to analyze any development issues that could arise.

We also get to do some of the fun things in the area of community involvement and place-making. We try to figure out how to make our parks more active and how to activate places that are not well-utilized.

So you're almost a facilitator for all these groups and government agencies to create a succinct plan for the future?

Exactly, that's what we try to do. We take input from the community and other departments and help capture that and put it in a plan.

What are some challenges unique to your role?

A lot of times it comes down to people's differing opinions and priorities. You want to get the community involved and you want to hear what their priorities are, but you can't always get everyone to participate. Often times you will hear the most from people who don't like things and you don't get to hear from the people who are in support of something.

Another challenge is just growth pressures in general and figuring out how to stay ahead of growth. That helps us determine where we want to grow and how we want a certain area of the city to develop.

I read in your brief biography provided by the city that one of your areas of interest is building on the city's priority for an emphasis on healthy living. How are you hoping to expand on that priority?

I think it's really important to extend what we already have, especially when it comes to the trail systems in the city. We already have a great trail system, but we need to continue to expand on that and give the public more access and recreation opportunities.

Judging from your list of hobbies, it seems like you are pretty passionate about the outdoors and healthy activities. Were you excited to come on board with a city that shares that passion as far as planning goes?

Yes, that was definitely exciting for me.

It really is such an important thing to have access to the outdoors. There's a book, "Last Child in the Woods," and it shows just how important it is for kids to be outside and in nature. Even in New York City they have Central Park and that's so important for that community. If kids are stuck inside on their computers it really affects their health.

Are there any particular projects that you're excited about as you get started in this role?

We are going to be looking at the East Sherman Creative Corridor because we really want to re-energize that area of Sherman Avenue. We're looking at getting some grant funding to try to come up with a plan for the area and to get more public artwork there. Then we want to engage with the business and property owners in the area to get their input on how we can really open this area up and attract more businesses to it.

There's so much potential with the area. It excites me to come up with a plan for East Sherman and to see that plan through.

It's a gateway to the city and we want to make it more inviting, which will also increase its economic potential.