The City of Pensacola gave the media embargoed copies of the Strive to Thrive: Pensacola 2035 strategic plan on Friday, which the PNJ promptly posted on its website at 4 a.m. on Monday without much attention from its readers.
- At his weekly press conference last week, Mayor D.C. Reeves said, “Gehl talked to more than 1,700 citizens for what I expect to be the guiding document for this administration and for Council about what the city wants.”
Here are key points in the executive summary:
SIX TAKEAWAYS FROM PUBLIC INPUT
1. Residents most appreciate how their city balances “small town charm” and growth.
2. Locals’ favorite destinations reveal their love for both socializing downtown and relaxing in nature.
3. Residents are feeling positive about the neighborhood they live in.
4. People in Pensacola are cautiously optimistic about the changes happening in the City.
5. Core concerns focus on opportunities for all generations to stay and thrive in Pensacola — especially as the city changes.
6. People want to see more housing, safer streets, and better facilities in their neighborhoods.
UMBRELLA TOOL
The mayor wants the plan to guide the city’s future annual budgets, capital projects, and policy priorities. According to the executive summary, the core vision is:
- By 2035, all residents have the support they need to stay and thrive in their city—at every stage of life.
“Under this umbrella are multiple different initiatives, from subject-specific plans to innovative policies, all of which — sometimes separate efforts, other times interrelated initiatives — are organized under the same recommended goals and actions set out in this plan,” says the report’s executive summary. “As time goes by, more and more initiatives will emerge as opportunity presents itself — this plan sets th
e overarching framework to ensure that time, funds, and attention are funneled to projects foster this vision.”
HOW PRIORITIES WILL BE SET
City leaders will prioritize projects based on these five questions, with more “yeses” indicating higher priority:
Prioritize basic needs first
—Does this project address safety and security: attainable housing, safer streets, well-resourced community facilities, or resilience?
Prioritize more mixed-use hubs beyond Downtown
—Does this project advance investment in livability outside of Downtown to create more neighborhood centers with walkable amenities and services?
Prioritize feasible wins
—Does this project have a clear path to implementation, community partners and champions, and/or access to funding?
Prioritize racial equity
—Does this project further equitable outcomes for communities of color in Pensacola, especially for attainable housing and quality of infrastructure?
Prioritize systems
—Does this project address multiple strategic goals at once?
