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 2008 Program of Work.

I. Public Education, Engagement and Outreach  

ECT will continue to fulfill its critical role of educating and engaging the citizens and governmental leaders of Central Texas in an ongoing dialogue about the challenges of rapid growth and the opportunities to shape our region’s future. Activities in this area will include:

Events and communications to educate and engage the region's citizens

• Vision Progress Assessment Outreach. Conduct a public forum in each of the five Central Texas counties to discuss the progress of the Vision over the past five years and to understand local concerns and issues. (See more about this project under Measuring Progress Toward the Vision)
• Quality Growth Toolbox Outreach. Conduct workshops throughout the region to demonstrate the use of ECT's new online Quality Growth Toolbox and to gather feedback. (See more about this project under Creating Tools and Resources to Accomplish the Regional Vision).
  
• Central Texas Greenprint for Growth Outreach. As soon as funding is secured, ECT, in partnership with the Trust for Public Land and the Capital Area Council of Governments, will create and convene stakeholder groups in Bastrop, Caldwell, Hays and Williamson Counties to conduct the Greenprint for Growth process in order to create a regional prioritized map of green space. (See more about this project under Creating Tools and Resources to Accomplish the Regional Vision.)
  
• Third Annual ECT Community Stewardship Awards and Luncheon. On May 2, 2008, ECT will conduct the third annual luncheon to spotlight and honor 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.
  
• Regional Issues Forums. Conduct at least two public events related to regional growth issues. One of the two will likely be an educational event relating to the opening of Capital Metro's new commuter rail line, the related transit-oriented developments that are planned and future transit projects.
  
• Horizons Newsletter. Continue to publish and distribute ECT Horizons, a quarterly e-newsletter about strategies for coping with the rapid growth in the region and the work of Envision Central Texas.
  

• Leader Updates. Continue to meet with city and county leaders throughout Central Texas to update them about the work of ECT, discuss what ECT can do to better support their needs and determine their views regarding the integration of the ECT vision into their planning process.
  
• Regional Planner Roundtables. Convene two meetings of the regions planners to discuss Central Texas growth issues, ECT's new Project Rating System and ECT's new Quality Growth Toolbox.
  
• Regional Housing Study. Investigate methodology, funding sources, partners and scope of a potential study of the housing resources and challenges in Central Texas.
  
• Regional Activity Centers. Continue to promote and educate about the advantages of compact, walk-able activity centers and assist the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization in its efforts to promote these regional activity centers in Central Texas.
  
• SH 130 Corridor Dialogue. Continue to facilitate dialogue and cooperation amongst the stakeholders along State Highway 130 and help create and implement tools and strategies to accomplish quality growth in the region.
  
• Regional Organizations Collaboration. Through meetings and joint projects, increase cooperation and collaboration among regional organizations and governments in order to maximize synergies as well as increase progress toward the Regional Vision.
  
• Implementation Committees. Leverage the talents, knowledge and energy of the region's citizens to accomplish the Vision through engagement in Envision Central Texas' Implementation Committees.
They include:

• Community Design Committee
  
• Community Outreach Committee
  
• Economic Vitality Committee
  
• Open Space Committee
  
• Social Equity Committee
  
• Transportation and Land Use Committee

II. Creating Tools and Resources to Accomplish the Regional Vision

ECT will be a resource to the region on best practices, tools and strategies that support quality growth and move us closer to the Regional Vision. Activities and resources will include:

• Quality Growth Toolbox. In partnership with the University of Texas at Austin and others, ECT will work to promote, refine and expand ECT's online Toolbox for Quality Growth to assist the public and private sector in understanding and better utilizing growth strategies, tools and best practices. The toolbox will be available on ECT's website and will include a compendium of more than 100 planning tools with examples, recommendations and links.

• Central Texas Greenprint for Growth. As soon as funding is secured, ECT, in partnership with the Trust for Public Land and the Capital Area Council of Governments, will begin the process of producing a Central Texas Greenprint for Growth. This GIS-based land conservation tool has been successfully used across the country and will assist in the identification and prioritization of open space in the Central Texas Region. The "greenprinting" process includes comprehensive data collection, extensive local stakeholder input and cutting edge computer modeling. The greenprinting process will be conducted in Bastrop, Caldwell, Hays and Williamson Counties and then combined with the existing Travis County Greenprint.
  
• Project Rating System. Create a voluntary “ECT Project Rating System” that will assist local governments and other entities to evaluate a proposed project’s alignment with the tenets of the ECT Regional Vision. By utilizing this ECT Rating System, citizens and local governments can make basic assessments of how individual projects may foster or impede the future that the citizens of Central Texas articulated through the ECT visioning process. It also allows developers and others in the private sector an accessible way of assessing a development project’s contribution to the Vision and the region’s overall livability goals.
  
• Walkable, Mixed Use Communities White Paper. Develop and make available a practical guide to creating walkable, mixed use communities with detailed rationale, best practices and recommendations.
  
• Legislative Analysis. Begin to analyze possible legislation for the next Texas Legislative session that would help Central Texas better manage growth and foster regional cooperation.
  
• ECT Website. Maintain and enhance a website (www.envisioncentraltexas.org) that spotlights the work of Envision Central Texas and offers resources and information to those addressing the challenges of growth and development in Central Texas.

III. Measuring Progress Towards the Regional Vision

ECT will advocate for goals related to the attainment of the Region Vision. Activities in this area will include:

• Vision Progress Assessment. The goal of this project will be to analyze where we are today relative to the Vision and understand what implementation efforts are needed now in order to move more effectively toward the future described by the Vision. Deliverables will include:
• Updated information about the state of the region.
• A consultant report detailing the findings of this progress assessment.
• Community workshops and surveys throughout the region that increase citizen awareness of issues and gather useful feedback on the progress assessment and community priorities.
• Recommendations from the consultant and ECT Board for implementation strategies and priorities.
• A presentation of this assessment, community input and the recommendations for moving forward at a public event or events.

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