DEFINING OUR FUTURE
In 2018, local philanthropists, Galveston elected officials, community leaders, and general residents began a formal planning process. The objective? Define a shared strategic vision for the future of Galveston. This collective impact model was meant to create a more viable, equitable, resilient, and sustainable community.
Community-fueled recommendations and related actions would put the island in a stronger position to tackle systemic, interdependent challenges—driving a gradual transformation to safer, more livable neighborhoods and green spaces, affordable housing, equitable access to health care, social services, quality education, healthier environments, and more significant employment opportunities.
Vision Galveston Launch: Keynote Presentation on June 6, 2019
Video by Taylor Greenwalt at Greenwalt Productions.
VISION GALVESTON’S Plan
Vision Galveston emerged in September 2018, a project to empower the Galveston Island community to define a vision for the future of our city.
The planning phase was funded by the Galveston Roundtable of Foundations and led by a representative 200-plus member steering committee. This was conducted in stages over nine months and included three rounds of outreach.
More than 8,500 people (representing 15 percent of Galveston’s diverse population) responded to a survey, attended interactive workshops, and met in small groups in homes, schools, and nonprofit organization offices.
Comments about what kind of city Galvestonians wanted and what was needed to realize their vision were synthesized by nationally-recognized consultants into a framework. This included five broad vision statements and 78 recommendations.
Based on this inclusive framework, Vision Galveston released a final plan in June 2019. These strategies, in context, serve as a roadmap for Vision Galveston to act. In addition, it supports Galveston leaders in their ongoing development of the City Comprehensive Plan, a long-range planning tool to guide future development on the island. The plan also provides ideas for strategic plans developed by other organizations in Galveston.
How do we run a community vision project?
INCLUSION AND OUTREACH
We first asked Galvestonians what mattered to them. We attended events, reached out through our schools, visited civic clubs, disseminated surveys, and utilized other research methods to engage more than 15% of the island’s population.
IDENTIFY
We intended to identify essential questions, values, and goals of Galvestonians. After conducting broad outreach, we held numerous workshops and conversations where community members met with Vision Galveston’s project team to discuss specific issues, solutions, and actions.
RECOMMEND
Our strategic plan includes 78 community-fueled recommendations for new policies, programs, and projects. Recommendations address virtually every aspect of Galveston, from resiliency, the economy, land use, and housing to jobs, education, parks and green space, and transportation.