About the Southwest Michigan Planning Commission

The Southwest Michigan Planning Commission (SWMPC) serves the regional planning needs of Berrien, Cass, and Van Buren Counties and is one of fourteen regional planning and development organizations in the State of Michigan.

The mission of the Southwest Michigan Planning Commission is to promote a sustainable, high quality of life through the facilitation of sound planning and decision-making.

The Southwest Michigan Planning Commission:

• Is the designated Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) for two metropolitan transportation study areas (Benton Harbor/St. Joseph and Niles/Buchanan/Cass County) 
• Is the designated Economic Development District for Southwest Michigan. One of the functions of regional economic development districts is to cultivate major economic development projects and act as a link between those projects and Economic Development Administration funding.

The SWMPC is a member of the Michigan Association of Regions, an association of fourteen regional planning and development agencies across Michigan.

MAR provides a forum for regional councils to work together to develop and implement solutions that will create more livable communities in the 21st century.

The SWMPC is a member organization to the Michigan Transportation Planning Association (MTPA).  The MTPA is an organization that unites Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) and their transportation planning partners in State and federal government.  Through MTPA, its members remain connected and informed in the complex world of transportation planning.