Chattanooga leaders need your help.

They’ve launched a new survey that will shape what the city and county look like in 2040.

The survey takes 10 minutes or less to take and allows for feedback on everything from infrastructure and entertainment to education and technology.

The goal is to get at least 3,500 responses by Nov. 1, Chattanooga Chamber President and CEO Christy Gillenwater said at a Tuesday morning announcement at the Bessie Smith Cultural Center.

The survey is the result of an earlier process that involved community meetings.

Futurist Rebecca Ryan will be taking the survey input—along with information from other meetings and discussions—and use it to craft a vision for the future, Gillenwater said.

Government, community and business leaders spoke Tuesday morning about the importance of making the survey process inclusive.

United Way will be leveraging its connections to the 1,600 nonprofits in the city, as well as 1,200 churches, to get feedback.

Olivet Baptist Church Bishop Kevin Adams said the inclusivity and focus on diversity is essential.

“That’s something we’ve prayed for and wanted for years and to see it come to pass is a wonderful thing,” he said.

Businesses, such as EPB, will be pushing the survey out to employees and customers.

The survey is available in Spanish and leaders will be taking iPads into underserved communities to provide access, Chattanooga City Councilman Erskine Oglesby said.

In helping create the survey, students with Chattanooga’s user experience design school Center Centre, such as Glad Beltran, tested and perfected the survey, aiming to make it easy for anyone to take.

They went out into the community to get feedback about how to best communicate to the public.

They spoke with people at Patten Towers and approached people who were sitting outside in Miller Park or outside the library. They spoke with low-income, low-literacy residents in an effort to reach beyond the people who generally participate in these processes, Beltran said.

They also worked to make sure the survey was easy to understand for Spanish-speaking residents, asking for feedback from residents that might not always be included in these types of processes.

Instead of inviting people to the table, leaders aim to take the table to community members, United Way President Lesley Scearce said.

“What this really means is we are going to be on the ground together, reaching into the hardest places to reach,” she said.

And Mayor Andy Berke said the city’s history shows that residents and leaders follow through on planning efforts.

The city’s Riverfront development and Tennessee Aquarium are more distant examples of what happens when the city plans and Berke also highlighted the Innovation District and the city’s growing music scene as examples intentional changes that came to fruition through similar envisioning processes.

“It comes down to one huge word and that is trust…” he said. “When we are done, we do something with the information. Chattanooga knows the pain of holding onto the past for too long. I grew up in that world and don’t want to go back there.”

Quote-worthy

“For years, I’ve heard that we are invited to the table but then dinner is already set...This is one of the first times that we get to participate in the process, so I’m just elated.” —Kevin Adams, Olivet Baptist Church

“My plan is to take it to the neighborhood. We are going to host community meetings … Once we do know [what people want], then we immediately start an implementation process so it’s not something that’s sitting out there.” —City Councilman Erskine Oglesby

“We need to make sure that all incomes, all races, all cultures [are represented]...We are talking about the future. We are talking about prosperity for our children and grandchildren and we need to get it right.” —Urban League of Greater Chattanooga President Warren E. Logan

“We wholeheartedly believe in these types of processes...one of the best things about where we live is the input we get.” —Mayor Jim Coppinger

“Everyone involved has been very aware that this is an envisioning process for all of Chattanooga and Hamilton County and every voice matters.” —Center Centre co-founder Leslie Jensen-Inman

Resident feedback 💻

Some area residents already weighed in on NOOGAtoday’s social media pages, as well as on Hamilton County’s Facebook page.

“Maglev rail to Atlanta so I don’t have to drive through the dump that is north Georgia.” — Heath G.
“I believe we need to expand our solar energy resources. As a community, we should research if wind energy would be useful. This will both create new jobs with special skills and opportunities for higher education and pay.” — Matthew S.
“I’d like to see an underground mountain bike course similar to one in Louisville or Philadelphia. — Tia S.
“I would love for Chattanooga to become a very green city and invest heavily in environmental resources and green technologies to become a model city in the Southeast.” — Brandon R.