On Thursday, Overland Park, Kansas hosted their “Reveal the Vision Open House” for a first look at the community’s draft vision and action plan. Over 200 people attended the open house. This event followed the Imagine Tomorrow Workshop in January and ten Community Conversations in April where in total nearly 1,200 people shared their ideas for the future and provided feedback. The ForwardOP process has generated thousands of ideas and unique pieces of input that have been synthesized and organized into a community vision for the future of Overland Park. Highlights of the draft vision and action plan include a bold vision and ambitious goals and actions.
A bold community vision statement. “Overland Park will lead as a forward-thinking, innovative and welcoming community.” Overland Park’s vision is to be a forward-thinking community that continually plans and is looked to as a leader both regionally and nationally. The City will strive to be innovative and imaginative—intentionally working together to set a high standard for community life—and welcoming to people of all ages and from diverse backgrounds.
Ambitious goals and actions. Overland Park’s vision is supported by five goal statements—intended outcomes expressed in simple terms. All goal statements were tested and received positive feedback from the public at the Community Conversations.
- A welcoming place where all people have access to high quality education, affordable healthcare, social services, and a safe environment, and where the community works together for the greater good.
- An engaged community offering opportunities for people to interact with each other, local leaders and institutions that provide an array of civic services.
- A high-quality, sustainable and attractive built environment offering a variety of choices including neighborhoods that offer the opportunity to live, work, and play and establishes Overland Park as a destination for business development and family fun.
- A connected city offering choices for mobility including well-maintained road networks, public transit, sidewalks, bike lanes, and trails with an emphasis on embracing new infrastructure technologies and future transportation modes.
- A strong economy anchored by a diverse job base and positive city image that is attractive to investment and visitors allowing for a high quality of life for all people.
The Action Agenda contains 39 actions and is organized by eight initiative areas: gathering, living, learning, well-being, connecting, welcoming, innovating, and placemaking. All actions contained within the draft action agenda: advance the vision and goals, enhance core services and programs, improve the attractiveness for personal, business and institutional investments; connect to community input directly or indirectly; enhance the image of the community both internally and externally; increase community pride; and provide economic benefit.
To learn more about ForwardOP, visit: http://forwardop.org/
