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 Mar: An Initiative A Day 8.3: Review and amend local ordinances to allow for small- and moderate-scale urban farming on occupied and vacant parcels that are environmentally safe for growing food.

On February 25, the NEOSCC Board voted unanimously to approve and endorse the Vibrant NEO 2040 Vision, Framework and Action Products.  We are sharing an “Initiative A Day” so you can gain a better understanding of the vision and framework!  If you would like to read all of the Initiatives, you can download them here: Recommendation and Initiatives.  You can access a pdf of the entire vision chapter here.  The vision chapter contains all 41 initiatives, development strategies, indicators, and matrices that identify how the recommendations, initiatives and indicators all relate. Show your support for Vibrant NEO 2040 by adding your name to our Champions of Vibrant NEO 2040 list here. Initiative 8.3: Review and amend local ordinances to allow for small- and moderate-scale urban farming on occupied and vacant parcels that are environmentally safe for growing food. WHAT THIS MEANS. Zoning and land use are significant, yet easily changed, barriers to urban…

18 Mar: An Initiative A Day 8.2: Partner with individual landowners, the food processing industry, and local organizations to protect agriculturally valuable land for future generations.

On February 25, the NEOSCC Board voted unanimously to approve and endorse the Vibrant NEO 2040 Vision, Framework and Action Products.  We are sharing an “Initiative A Day” so you can gain a better understanding of the vision and framework!  If you would like to read all of the Initiatives, you can download them here: Recommendation and Initiatives.  You can access a pdf of the entire vision chapter here.  The vision chapter contains all 41 initiatives, development strategies, indicators, and matrices that identify how the recommendations, initiatives and indicators all relate. Show your support for Vibrant NEO 2040 by adding your name to our Champions of Vibrant NEO 2040 list here. Initiative 8.2: Partner with individual landowners, the food processing industry, and local organizations to protect agriculturally valuable land for future generations. WHAT THIS MEANS. Agricultural land is a precious resource that is diminished by exurban growth and development. The farm crisis of…

14 Mar: An Initiative A Day 8.1: Support the expansion of Community Supported Agriculture (CSA’s), farmer cooperatives, farm-to-school programs, and other existing mechanisms that support sustainable agriculture and enhance food access.

On February 25, the NEOSCC Board voted unanimously to approve and endorse the Vibrant NEO 2040 Vision, Framework and Action Products.  We are sharing an “Initiative A Day” so you can gain a better understanding of the vision and framework!  If you would like to read all of the Initiatives, you can download them here: Recommendation and Initiatives.  You can access a pdf of the entire vision chapter here.  The vision chapter contains all 41 initiatives, development strategies, indicators, and matrices that identify how the recommendations, initiatives and indicators all relate. Show your support for Vibrant NEO 2040 by adding your name to our Champions of Vibrant NEO 2040 list here. Initiative 8.1: Support the expansion of Community Supported Agriculture (CSA’s), farmer cooperatives, farm-to-school programs, and other existing mechanisms that support sustainable agriculture and enhance food access. WHAT THIS MEANS. The entrepreneurial ecosystem around the local foods movement is expanding steadily. It includes…

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.