Thrive 2055

Reaching Beyond Today

Thrive 2055 was the tristate's inaugural citizen-led, public-private regional planning endeavor to engage the citizens of the 16-county Chattanooga region in determining their future.

In 2012, Thrive 2055 launched with a mission to create an action plan that makes the most of economic opportunities while preserving what was most loved about the communities and the nature-based lifestyle that makes the region special.

The three-year planning initiative involved hundreds of citizens from local business, government, education, philanthropic and nonprofit entities in intensive, collaborative work sessions and meetings.

Local volunteers actively engaged thousands of people across the region in surveys, polls and public input sessions in identifying the region's top issues and creating the resulting action plan.

Outcomes included unprecedented collaborations in regional economic development, transportation, environment, conservation and education organizations, many of whom had never worked together before on a regional scale. 

The objectives of the process were to identify regional values and goals, and build consensus on strategies that could be implemented for the long-term prosperity of the region. 

Process Outcomes

Perspectives