VELOCITY 2040’S DAUNTING GOALS

Achievable, utopian or somewhere in between?

We won’t sugarcoat it. The compiled goals implicit from the results of a recent community survey about the area’s priorities for the next 20 years are daunting.

The Velocity 2040 visioning survey goals, released Thursday, suggest Chattanooga in 21 years will be the smartest city in the South, focusing on education excellence for all students, and that every resident will thrive economically.

They additionally advocate that 20 minutes or less will be our transit standard, that diverse leaders will represent the full spectrum of who we are, and that a collaborative process for solving challenges with openness and respect will transform neighborhoods and bring governments together.

At the outset, it’s evident this is not your father’s Vision 2000 (a 1980s visioning process that sought to stir redevelopment efforts in the city), but it was never meant to be.

This visioning process sought not to look at the city’s and county’s physical attributes and how they might be enhanced or redeveloped but to determine what the people’s hopes and dream are for themselves, their families and their neighbors in 2040.

Nearly 5,000 people representing every facet of the community responded to the survey, which was created by a variety of partners and individuals. Its results not only form the basis of the five major community goals but also will inform the five-year strategic plan of Chattanooga Climbs, Advancing Economic Development and Talent Initiatives, an initiative of the Chattanooga Chamber Foundation.

› That the No. 1 community goal is to make Chattanooga the smartest city in the South is not surprising considering Chattanooga 2.0, another Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce initiative, has sought to work alongside the local community to improve education from pre-kindergarten through post-secondary attainment since 2015. Indeed, the mantra on the cover of its early “Ten Bold Strategies” plan was “Building the Smartest Community in the South.”

With assessment test scores below those of several other large cities in the state, and below the state overall, the Hamilton County Schools district has a climb ahead of it. But Superintendent Dr. Bryan Johnson, hired since the advent of Chattanooga 2.0, has made his goal for Hamilton County to be the fastest improving district in the state.

› Education, in our opinion, is the key to the second Velocity 2040 goal of every resident thriving economically. A college education is important but is not for everybody. However, two of Chattanooga 2.0’s “bold strategies” were to increase postsecondary completion and to connect more residents to high-demand jobs.

Since many of the high-demand jobs require technical skills or certified trainees, an increase in postsecondary completion is essential. Indeed, it is so important that it was the subject of former Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam’s Drive to 55 initiative, which seeks to have 55 percent of Tennesseans attain a college degree or certification by 2025. New Gov. Bill Lee shows no signs of backing down from that goal, and his desire for rural development may only enhance it.

› Those who climb the Ridge Cut daily behind three lanes of tractor-trailer trucks, weave through construction on U.S. 27 or are stuck behind a line of cars on Amnicola Highway, can only smile at the third goal of a 20-minute transit. Current area highway construction plans will slow that transit before they make it better, and oft-suggested trains — fast or slow — still seem a dream as faraway as the flying cars envisioned in the 1960s “Jetsons” cartoon series. But there may be other solutions.

› Chattanooga and Hamilton County already are fortunate to have a diversity of leadership in their individual governing bodies, but the diversity suggested in the goal is likely racial, sexual and cultural diversity in industry, law enforcement, philanthropy and other sectors of the economy. We’re moving in that direction, though obviously not as rapidly as many would like.

› We hope if the Velocity 2040 plan determines a collaborative process for solving challenges with openness and respect that transforms neighborhoods and brings governments together, the powers that be will share it with Congress.

Quite seriously, we do believe that openness, transparency and accountability on governmental bodies, across law enforcement and with school business, just to name three important areas, can be transformative in setting the pace for individuals, neighborhoods and even for the entire community.

Chattanooga and Hamilton County entities, not unlike corporations, sports teams and even families everywhere, are too often concerned with who holds power, what might be gained or lost, and who has to save face.

If all of those are put aside, there’s no limit to what can be accomplished.

We look forward to seeing the next steps in these goals, a process that will be daunting and will take all of us, but one that offers only a brighter future for our area.