It was interesting that a top priority identified at the recent Regional Town Meeting of Voices & Choices was "Plan for the future development and growth of the region."

People are asking: How can we come together and talk about where it's best to develop land and where it's best to conserve land? How can we talk about issues of equity and the fiscal disparities between rich and poor communities? And how can we do this on a regional scale, the only geography that matters?

We've done some thinking about what such a plan might be like. It should include strategies for conservation, development/redevelopment, transportation, farmland protection, affordable housing, and regional tax-base sharing. The product would be a clear set of development priorities for the region — priorities that would have public support and help people understand the trade-offs between developing one place over another.

Comments appreciated on this concept!

Sadly, Northeast Ohio has no regional vision for how to live sustainably on the land. Our fragmented structure of local governments — all with their own, individual control of land use and their own, unrelenting need to grow their tax base — makes regional cooperation and planning extremely difficult.

However, public interest in a regional planning process seems to be growing. Indeed, the top ranked goal at the Voices & Choices Town Meeting of September 2006 was: “Plan for the future development and growth of the region.”

People are asking: How can we come together and talk about where it's best to develop land and where it's best to conserve land? How can we talk about issues of equity and the fiscal disparities between rich and poor communities? And how can we do this on a regional scale, the only geography that matters?

Elements of a regional plan

If we were to embark on a regional plan, it should address at least the following areas:

Tonight every TV station in the region will ask viewers to VOTE online about “Quality of Life — Addressing Sprawl” during local news shows

First, a little background

Alarmed to see the region's wealth slipping away, 80 philanthropic organizations in Northeast Ohio formed the Fund for Our Economic Future in 2004. Its biggest project is Voices & Choices, a 15-county civic engagement process to involve citizens in determining the region's agenda for economic transformation.

Earlier this year, V&C narrowed the priority list to six categories — including the connection between quality of life and urban sprawl.

Vote to address sprawl tonight

This week, Voices & Choices takes to the airwaves. Each night, all of the major TV news stations in Northeast Ohio will broadcast the same segment on a V&C category, and then ask viewers to log on to vote on which category they think should be the priority.

Between August and June, the Voices & Choices civic engagement process involved more than 17,000 citizen and leaders in identifying the greatest challenges facing the region. The six top challenges that emerged from these discussions were:

• Inequitable public school funding
• Government fragmentation and inefficiency
• Creating a 21st century workforce
• Racial isolation and income inequality
• Uncompetitive business environment
• Sprawl and regional connectivity

Now you can help narrow the list of options for addressing these challenges by filling out a V&C Choicebook. A Choicebook is an interactive online booklet that describes the tough choices facing Northeast Ohio and gives you a chance to express your preferences about how we should invest our resources to turn Northeast Ohio's economy around. It's an interesting way to participate and learn about the critical choices facing the region.

How are we planning to live together in this place called Northeast Ohio? The Voices & Choices civic engagement process is in the middle of NEO Speaks Week, a week-long blitz of community conversations about the tough issues facing the region. Here are two open meetings where you can speak your mind. 

Thinking about regional futures, we like the "Declaration of Interdependence" issued by folks in Greater Dayton. And it's useful to recall the results of the Northeast Ohio Sustainable Communities Symposium in 2000.

Voices & Choices — the 18-month, 15-county, civic engagement project involving thousands of citizens — is starting to hone its agenda for the economic transformation of Northeast Ohio. On June 6, the project will host a Regional Leadership Summit with 250 invited people to frame proposed solutions in six challenge areas:

• Inequitable public school funding
• Government fragmentation and inefficiency
• Creating a 21st century workforce
• Racial isolation and income inequalities
• Uncompetitive business environment
• Sustainable land development

The results will be presented as topics for discussion at a final Regional Town Meeting on September 16, where a prioritized action agenda for the region will be decided.

Voices & Choices Regional Leadership Team Summit to learn about future commitments of the Fund for Our Economic Future and evaluate options for addressing emerging regional challenges.

April 2007 update: The Voices & Choices civic engagement process has moved toward action on regional priorities with the creation of Advance Northeast Ohio. One 2007 initiative that could have far-reaching implications is a study of tax revenue sharing by the Northeast Ohio Mayors and City Managers Association.

The 15 counties of Northeast Ohio are home to more than 4 million people, making the region larger in population than 23 states. Our regional economy is greater than many small countries and employs one-third of all workers in the state of Ohio. Together, thinking and acting as a region, Northeast Ohio can be a collective force to be reckoned with in the global economy.

A new vision for regional economic development

Northeast Ohio is blessed with a legacy of philanthropic resources — local foundations endowed with wealth generated mostly during the region's industrial glory days. Today, these foundations have grown increasingly alarmed to see the region's wealth slipping away. They have observed:

League of Women Voters forum on Voices & Choices, the unprecedented civic initiative that involves thousands of citizens creating a shared action agenda to revitalize Northeast Ohio's economic recovery. Speaker: Dr. Janet D. Fiero, Project Manager, Voices & Choices. Call 216-781-0555 to RSVP.