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Region 2020 advocates regional cooperation and citizen involvement to improve quality of life in areas such as education, affordable housing, the environment, transportation, and the arts.
Region 2020 is a citizen-driven organization. More than 5,000 citizens were involved in the process and helped to formulate Region 2020's 34 goals and 217 strategies for implementation. The Region 2020 visioning project started in 1997 and encompasses a 12-county Central Alabama region: Bibb, Blount, Calhoun, Cullman, Etowah, Jefferson, Shelby, St. Clair, Talladega, Tuscaloosa, and Walker.
Working with community volunteers, Region 2020 first identified shared ideas about hopes and dreams for the region’s future, then translated those ideas into regional goals, related strategies and action steps.
Since then, Region 2020 has served as catalyst, convener and facilitator -- spurring local governments, the private sector, and citizens to work together to implement the goals. Region 2020 also has served as an incubator in recent years, helping its spin-off agencies such as the Cultural Alliance of Greater Birmingham and the Housing Enterprise of Central Alabama get their start.
A non-profit organization, Region 2020 encourages communities to think and plan regionally in order to define their future, while maintaining local identities and characteristics unique to Central Alabama.
The strongest message that emerged from the Region 2020 process was an exhortation to citizens and leaders to recognize and protect the values and assets of the region, safely passing them on to future generations.
The Region 2020 motto is: "Building a better place to live."
