Envision Central Texas (ECT) serves as a catalyst for regional cooperation and planning in order to realize a common Vision for Central Texas which preserves and enhances our natural resources, economic vitality, social equity and overall quality of living.

To help achieve this goal, ECT promotes and communicates the elements of the Vision, convenes regional dialogues to address growth challenges, creates tools to assist cities and counties in creating livable, sustainable communities and measures progress toward the Vision. Below is an overview of ECT's 2010 Program of Work.

Our Mission: Envision Central Texas (ECT) serves as a catalyst for regional cooperation and planning in order to realize a common Vision for Central Texas which preserves and enhances our natural resources, economic vitality, social equity and overall quality of living.

Our Goal: We must improve how we grow in order to sustain our region’s quality of life and competitiveness. The focus of ECT is on what, where and when we build, and how that impacts natural resources and mobility.

Our Work: To help achieve this goal, ECT focuses on public education, engagement and outreach; seeking opportunities for advocacy; creating tools and resources to accomplish the regional vision; measuring progress toward the regional vision; and our Implementation Committees and Task Forces.

2010 Program of Work

Improving coordination of regional infrastructure

• Convene two Regional Forums on efficient infrastructure

Central Texas has critical infrastructure needs and severely limited resources. Envision Central Texas will lead a regional dialogue at two forums to help inform the hard choices that must be made by regional leaders about infrastructure development, and help illuminate the discussions surrounding the CAMPO 2035 Plan. There is a need for greater awareness about our regional growth challenges, how issues are interconnected, the trade-offs inherent in various approaches to growth and the need for better regional coordination. Fiscal deficits for funding new infrastructure and ongoing maintenance, and ever growing demands on limited natural resources will require growth patterns that maximize efficiency and produce multiple benefits rather than isolated advantages or detrimental unintended consequences.

• Spotlight visionary projects at the Fifth Annual ECT Community Stewardship Awards Luncheon and feature keynote on regional coordination

On May 7, 2010, at the Hilton Austin, ECT will conduct the Fifth Annual Luncheon. At this event, ECT will spotlight the innovative people, projects and processes that are addressing the growth challenges facing our region in ways that will move us closer to a future that preserves and enhances our natural resources, economic vitality, social equity and overall quality of living. The Keynote Address will focus on regional infrastructure coordination.

• Promote and disseminate the Central Texas Greenprint for Growth to help identify areas to preserve as “natural infrastructure” as well as sites prime for development and analyze success of the first year of Central Texas Greenprint for Growth at Planner Roundtable

ECT, in partnership with the Trust for Public Land and the Capital Area Council of Governments, completed its Central Texas Greenprint for Growth initiative in 2009. This unique tool can help people and communities identify opportunities to preserve and enhance their “green infrastructure” by identifying land conservation priorities as well as serve as a “blueprint” and help inform larger infrastructure and planning projects, including roads, rail and utilities. In 2010, ECT will ensure that the Greenprinted is distributed and promoted throughout the five-county region. ECT will also design metrics to measure its usage and analyze best practices that can be shared at an ECT Planner Roundtable

• Increase cooperation through a Regional Mayors Forum

ECT will continue to provide a forum for discussion of important regional growth and infrastructure issues and coordination by launching a regular meeting of mayors.

Advocating for policies, tools and resources to support the Vision

• Advocate for and seek collaborations on county land use authority, transportation funding and other issues
• Preview 82nd Texas Legislative Session at ECT Forum
• Seek Texas inter-regional collaboration and coordination on key issues

In 2009, ECT began advocacy activities on county land use and local option transportation funding. ECT has created working groups on both these issues as well as position papers. Between sessions, ECT will seek to conduct educational activities about these issues. ECT will also seek out other organizations within the region and in other parts of the state for potential collaboration on these and other issues that would help advance the Vision. In fall 2010, ECT will host a preview of the topics that will be important at the 82nd Texas Legislative Session by convening members of the Central Texas delegation at an event similar to two that have been held in 2008 and 2009

• Explore collaboration on the Quality Growth Toolbox

The Quality Growth Toolbox was developed in partnership with the University of Texas at Austin and is an online collection of more than 100 resources and tools designed to assist communities as they plan for growth. ECT will explore collaboration with other organizations interested in quality growth so that we might expand the resources to improve the toolbox content and usage.

ECT Implementation Committees and Task Force

These groups contain about 100 volunteers and help ECT plan and conduct its initiatives and events.

• Community Design Committee - Working on detailed case studies of successful projects in the region that have elements of the Vision and assists with the Planner Roundtables.

• Community Outreach Committee - Working on opportunities for outreach on the ECT Vision and issues throughout the region and assisting with various events and materials.

• Natural Infrastructure Committee - Working on the promotion of the Central Texas Greenprint and other initiatives relating to natural infrastructure.

• Transportation and Land Use Committee - Working on current transportation and land use issues including the CAMPO 2035 Plan, transit planning and planning throughout the region.

• Benchmarks and Goals Task Force - Selecting measurable indicators, benchmarks and goals to demonstrate progress toward the realization of the Vision and to show changes.

  

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