Envision Bend’s Bend Vision Project launched an online poll today asking residents which potential strategies designed to ensure Bend remains livable in the future are the highest priority for the community. The poll results will be utilized by four community Action Teams this spring as they develop a five-year Action Plan for the greater Bend area. The Envision Bend Action Plan is meant to help greater Bend move in the direction of the community’s long-term vision and to improve residents’ quality of life. Share your thoughts by taking the poll at envisionbend.org. The poll is available in both English and Spanish.
“It’s been great to hear from the large number of community members who participated in our outreach in 2022 and more recently at our Community Summit and provided us with ideas to improve the quality of life for all residents,” said Matt Muchna, Envision Bend executive director. “We are now asking residents to help us prioritize those ideas and potential strategies as we move forward with crafting our community’s new five-year Action Plan.”
The poll asks respondents to choose the top five of 15 potential strategies in each of the four focus areas. Those focus areas include Guiding our Growth, Building an Economy for Everyone, Ensuring a Safe Healthy Environment, and Cultivating an Inclusive Community.
The potential strategies were derived from more than 3,000 ideas provided by 2,450 community members who participated in the Bend Vision Project’s outreach work since the initiative was launched by Envision Bend in early 2022. The Bend Vision Project queried residents about community values, changes, challenges and opportunities.
To collect that information, the Bend Vision Project conducted a survey that was completed by 2,045 residents; interviewed or spoke to 73 community leaders and connectors; held 17 focus groups that attracted 142 participants; and held a community summit earlier this month that attracted more than 200 people.
This is the first large-scale community visioning project for the greater Bend area since 2005-06. Envision Bend is a nonprofit organization that works with government, business, community groups, and people of all backgrounds and perspectives from across the Bend area to help shape the community’s future, making Bend a better place for everyone. For more on the Bend Vision Project, visit the Envision Bend website at envisionbend.org, or its Facebook page at facebook.com/EnvisionBend.
