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…

30 Oct: Learn and Create: AMATS Connecting Communities Grants

AMATS, the Akron Metropolitan Area Transportation Study, is one of the four Metropolitan Planning Organizations involved in Vibrant NEO 2040 that we discussed in our post last week.  One of their many initiatives is the Connecting Communities program which “is designed to provide communities with funding to develop transportation plans that will lead to the identification of projects eligible for AMATS funds.” The Connecting Communities grant program was a recommendation from  AMATS’s Connecting Communities Planning Initiative (link is to a large pdf file) in 2010.   The purpose of Connecting Communities – A Guide to Integrating Land Use and Transportation is to promote a region that balances environmental, social and economic concerns by improving coordination between land use and transportation. Connecting Communities utilizes a regional planning process to explore strategies to increase transportation choices and accessibility, help communities make collaborative, informed decisions to coordinate development, reduce environmental impacts and improve regional connectivity….

29 Oct: Act: Help us spread the word

  As a partner, supporter and/or member of NEOSCC, you have likely heard us mention our new Conditions and Trends Platform (CAT), an online tool designed to help Northeast Ohioans understand, talk about and contribute to the future of our region. We are very excited about the potential of this tool, and we need your help to make sure it gets seen and shared. We are relying on you and your fellow NEOSCC supporters to help spread the word about the Conditions and Trends platform to your colleagues, friends and family across the region. We’ve made it easy for you; in the attached Toolkit, you will find several components designed to help you talk about and share the Conditions and Trends Platform with your networks, in person and especially online.     Conditions and Trends Toolkit: What It Is and How to Use It NEOSCC’s Conditions and Trends Platform (CAT)…

26 Oct: Act: Add your voice to transportation projects!

A significant component of NEOSCC’s leadership are the four Metropolitan Planning Organizations in Northeast Ohio. What is a Metropolitan Planning Organization? You can find out in the following presentation – NEOSCC_Overview_101_What is an MPO.  Here is some quick background:   NEOSCC and the Vibrant NEO 2040 planning process includes the following MPO’s and their county jurisdictions: Akron Metropolitan Area Transportation Study (AMATS) – Portage and Summit Counties Eastgate Regional Council of Governments – Mahoning and Trumbull Counties Northeast Ohio Area Coordinating Area (NOACA) – Cuyahoga, Geauga, Lake, Lorain, and Medina Counties Stark County Regional Planning Commission and the Stark County Area Transportation Study (SCATS) – Stark County The two other counties Ashtabula and Wayne County that are part of the Vibrant NEO 2040 effort are covered through Councils of Governments.  This is a topic that will be covered soon in the Vibrant Daily. As part of their planning process, the MPO’s…

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.