Across the country, local communities are reeling from the impacts of a changing world. Unfortunately, few cities have much experience in anticipating and planning for change at the local level. In a word, they lack a strategic vision.
Tomball is no exception. With its rural heritage as well as its recent growth and change, Tomball faces any number of challenges as it looks to the future. How can Tomball retain the best of its past, while addressing such challenges and creating new opportunities for its citizens in the future?
Community visioning is a planning process through which any city can create a shared vision for its future and then begin working to achieve that vision over time. Through the visioning process a community can begin to assert greater control over its destiny - rather than simply reacting to prevailing trends and issues.
Across the U.S., visioning is emerging as a new tool to help cities build strategic directions for the future. As an adjunct to comprehensive planning, visioning promotes community involvement and cooperation in creating better planned, more sustainable communities. Visioning is just one of the tools that will be employed by Vision 2030 - the Tomball Comprehensive Plan.
Tomball’s visioning journey begins on the evening of March 11 with the “Vision Institute” - an opportunity for Tomball residents to help chart the future of their community.
Joining the Vision 2030 consulting team will be Steven Ames of Steven Ames Planning in Portland, Ore. Ames is the author of the American Planning Association’s award-winning handbook, “A Guide to Community Visioning,” and has worked with the City of Portland, and numerous other cities in Oregon, Texas and across the west and overseas in anticipating and planning for the future.
The meeting will be held at Tomball High School Auditorium from 6 to 9 p.m.
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Last Updated ( Friday, 06 March 2009 13:49 )
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