VIBRANTNEO 2040

A VISION AND FRAMEWORK FOR THE FUTURE OF NORTHEAST OHIO

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THE VIBRANT NEO GUIDEBOOK

We have developed an executive summary of the Vision, Framework and Action Products. The Vibrant NEO Guidebook describes the Process, Objectives, Recommendations, Priority Initiatives and Indicators.  The document include maps of each of the major vision themes and summaries of the Action Products.

LATEST NEWS FROM THE BLOG

05 Apr: Now More Than Ever: Regional Collaboration During Covid and Beyond

The coronavirus pandemic has forced us all to do more with less as government revenues have been reduced. Even before the pandemic though, Northeast Ohio was struggling with declining population and aging infrastructure. With current trends as of 2010, Vibrant NEO predicted that all 12 counties of Northeast Ohio would be in a worse fiscal position by 2040, with expenses exceeding revenues. To keep this from happening, one of the four key Vibrant NEO themes is “promoting collaboration and efficiency”. Working across political boundaries can help reduce costs, stabilize budgets, and improve quality of life. On April 1st, 2021, Vibrant NEO hosted a panel discussion with four elected officials, learn how they are doing just that. Bringing their years of insight were: Robert A. Fiala, Willoughby Mayor and Safety Director Jim Hockaday, Conneaut City Manager Dennis Morley, Eastlake Mayor and Safety Director Rich Regovich, Willowick Mayor and Safety Director Michelle…

14 Jan: Vibrant NEO 2040 County Reports

In 2010, leaders representing a 12-county region of Northeast Ohio recognized that our communities’ futures are intertwined and concluded that the region could be more successful if we work together to anticipate, prepare for, and build our future. The Northeast Ohio Sustainable Communities Consortium (NEOSCC) was created to determine how to achieve this goal. NEOSCC’s assignment was not to “plan” the future of Northeast Ohio—those are decisions for the leaders and residents of Northeast Ohio’s communities to make. In broad terms, NEOSCC was created to answer three questions: What course is northeast Ohio on? What future does northeast Ohio want for itself? How do we make that future a reality? Over a three year period, each of the 12-counties participating in the NEOSCC effort collected extensive amounts of data, prepared maps and conducted public engagement. The county-level data was then aggregated into a regional framework report, Vibrant NEO 2040 –…

23 Apr: APA Awards Vibrant NEO the Daniel Burnham Award

Northeast Ohio’s biggest regional planning effort in a half-century has won the planning profession’s top award for a comprehensive plan. Vibrant NEO 2040, the product of three years’ work by the nonprofit Northeast Ohio Sustainable Communities Consortium, has been awarded the 2015 Daniel Burnham Award of the American Planning Association. “It feels terrific,” Grace Gallucci, director of NOACA, the Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency and one of the plan’s lead organizers, said about the award. “I think it helps to validate the work that NEOSCC did over the last three years . . . to say that it’s a good plan,” she said. The award is named for Chicago architect Daniel Burnham, who planned Chicago’s world-famous lakefront and also devised influential plans for other American cities, including Cleveland’s 1903 Group Plan. Gallucci said she hoped the award would add impetus to the implementation of the Vibrant NEO vision, which calls for focusing new…

27 Jan: AMATS Releases Mid-Block Crossing Analysis

The Akron Metropolitan Area Transportation Study’s (AMATS) recently completed Mid-Block Crossing Analysis is a first-of-its kind effort by the agency to identify locations where mid-block pedestrian crossings are occurring or are likely to occur throughout the Greater Akron area.  By identifying these locations, area communities can determine where pedestrian safety improvements may be needed.   This analysis won’t be the last-of-its-kind either, according to AMATS officials.  It’s the first in a series of similar efforts to foster a new planning synergy for the region that combines new planning and design strategies for a single purpose: To improve the area’s quality of life.   Many of the locations identified in the analysis are informal crossing points at roads and streets that aren’t marked as crossings.  People prefer to cross illegally at these points rather than walk to the safety of the nearest available crosswalk.  Many do so with no problem while…

19 Apr: Come see us at Earthfest on Sunday

Here are some pix from our table last year… NEOSCC is proud to once again be a sponsor for Earthfest.  Come visit our table this Sunday! Join Earth Day Coalition for EarthFest 2013 at this year’s new location, the Cuyahoga County Fairgrounds, on Sunday, April 21 from 10am-5pm.  In partnership with Mayor Frank Jackson’s Sustainable Cleveland 2019 initiative, the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District, Cuyahoga Arts & Culture and the Ohio Development Services Agency Office of Energy, this year’s EarthFest will celebrate Advanced and Renewable Energy with a new exhibit area under the Fairground’s dramatic on site wind turbine and Energy Education Center.  Presented and organized by Earth Day Coalition since 1990, EarthFest is Ohio’s largest environmental education event and the longest running Earth Day celebration in the nation. EarthFest will feature over 200 exhibits in 8 sustainability areas including: Advanced and Renewable Energy, Local & Sustainable Food, Clean Transportation…

18 Apr: MassDot Greening the State Transportation System

  Massachusetts Department of Transportation launched GreenDOT, a comprehensive environmental responsibility and sustainability initiative that will make MassDOT a national leader in “greening” the state transportation system. GreenDOT will be driven by three primary goals; reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, promote the healthy transportation options of walking, bicycling, and public transit, and support smart growth development.  In May of 2012, MassDOT released a Draft GreenDOT Implementation Plan for public review. The Plan was written to embed the sustainability vision of GreenDOT into the core business practices of MassDOT. According to the website, GreenDOT calls for MassDOT to incorporate sustainability into all of its activities; from strategic planning to project design and construction to system operation. The initiative includes greenhouse gas reduction targets mandated under the Global Warming Solutions Act, signed by Governor Patrick in 2008. GreenDOT was designed in response to several existing state laws, Executive Orders, and MassDOT policies….

17 Apr: GCRTA HealthLine named ‘Best BRT in USA’

The Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (RTA) recently received a Silver rating for the HealthLine – the highest ranking of a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) System in United States. The Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP) presented the award for the HealthLine to Joseph Calabrese, CEO and General Manager, RTA, as well as to Mayor Frank Jackson, City of Cleveland, for its support of the project, on Tuesday, April 16 at 200 Public Square. “The HealthLine is an example of how BRT can help to revitalize city centers, speed commutes, improve air quality, and leverage investment and development near transit, as we’ve seen with Cleveland,” said Walter Hook, ITDP CEO. “We consider the HealthLine to be a best practice for BRT in the US, and our hope is that it encourages other US cities to adopt this cutting-edge form of mass transit.” Former Senator George Voinovich supported this project…

NEOSCC and Vibrant NEO 2040 are largely funded by a highly competitive, first-of-its kind, $4.25M federal grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) as part of the Partnership for Sustainable Communities Initiative. The Sustainable Communities Initiative is an interagency collaboration among HUD, the U.S. Department of Transportation, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.