The Thrive 2055 Regional Partnership
As an organization dedicated to the regional vision and mission that grew out of the three-year planning process, the Thrive 2055 Regional Partnership will be the leading organization focused on the tristate, 16-county region around Chattanooga.By using data, collaboration and the art of convening regional dialogue on a broad scale, Thrive will continue to engage the region in innovative and community-driven approaches to growth. The Regional Partnership will:* Coordinate efforts among jurisdictional transportation planning organizations toward regional objectives* Facilitate coordination among land trusts, conservationists and outdoor recreation groups for the preservation and conservation of the region’s natural, cultural and historic treasures* Think far beyond the horizon, taking into account future technologies and advances that will ultimately effect the tristate region* Collect, analyze and present regional data that is responsive to the goals of the Thrive 2055 Strategic Action Plan* Strategically empower communities to access regional resources and self-design local solutions to the region’s most pressing issues* Be accountable to the integrity of the Thrive 2055 planning initiative’s promises and intentions to be fair and equally concerned with the entire tristate region
When hundreds of business, government and community leaders began convening in 2012 to create a sustainable vision for the tristate, 16-county region around Chattanooga, they had notions of what they wanted the region to look like in 40 years: an economically prosperous community of 1.4 million people.
Three years later, mountains of data and thousands of hours out in the region confirmed that economic growth and job attainment was important, but not at the expense of our region’s unique livability.
The Thrive 2055 process identified three priorities that must always align with economic development: education and workforce, regional transportation and protection of the region’s natural treasures. Thrive illuminated trends and forces in commuter patterns, educational attainment, freight movement and the loss of agricultural lands and wildlife habitat on a regional scale for the first time. Powerful messages emerged for everyone about actions to be taken – and taken soon – to ensure the sustainable vitality of the region.
After three years of work, the true value of the Thrive 2055 process emerged as trust.