Livability presentation from the 2014 VRHA conference

1. Virginia
Rural
Health
Association
December
11,
2014

2. WHAT
IS
THE
NRV
LIVABILITY
INITIATIVE?
The
Livability
Initiative
was
a
three-­‐year
regional
planning
process
which
provided
an
opportunity
for
the
New
River
Valley’s
residents
to
develop
a
vision
for
the
future
and
develop
strategies
that
businesses,
community
organizations,
local
governments,
and
individuals
can
use
to
make
this
future
vision
a
reality.

3. Coming
Together
for
the
NRV
• The
Resources:
$1
million
grant
awarded
from
the
Federal
Partnership
for
Sustainable
Communities
–
February
2011
• The
Team:
– 2
staff
people
at
the
NRVPDC
– 9
person
Leadership
Team
– 16
Consortium
Partners

4. Consor&um
Partners
• NRV
Planning
District
Commission
• Montgomery
County
• Pulaski
County
• Floyd
County
• Giles
County
• Town
of
Blacksburg
• Town
of
Christiansburg
• City
of
Radford
• Virginia
Tech
• Community
Housing
Partners
• National
Committee
for
the
New
River
• Community
Foundation
of
the
NRV
• New
River
Community
Action
• Metropolitan
Planning
Organization
• NRV
HOME
Consortium
• New
River
Health
District

5. Working
Groups
• The
Focus
Areas:
• Housing
• Arts
&
Culture
• Economic
Development
• Natural
Resources
• Energy
• Transportation
• Community
Health
• The
Agenda:
• Explore
Issues
• Develop
baseline
conditions
• Determine
trends
and
projections
• Develop
goals
and
priority
strategies

6. • Funding:
– Support
from
the
Robert
Wood
Johnson
Foundation
• The
Working
Group
included
representatives
from:
– New
River
Health
District
– Virginia
Tech
Institute
for
Policy
&
Governance
– Area
hospitals
• The
group’s
charge:
– To
identify
and
explore
key
topic
areas
within
community
health,
gather
relevant
data
and
develop
goals
and
strategies
within
those
topic
areas.
Incorpora&ng
Community
Health

7. Public
Outreach
• Kick
Off
Summit
• Online
&
paper
surveys
• Spanish
language
and
lower
literacy
surveys
• Small
focus
groups
and
community
meetings
• Interactive
performance
• Digital
storytelling
• BUILT
NRV
planning
game
• Community
priority
survey
• NRV
Tomorrow
interactive
survey

8. The
Livability
Report
Report
available
online
at
www.cfnrv.org
or
at
www.nrvpdc.org

9. Enhancing
Living
&
Working
Environments
• Provide
support
for
an
aging
population
• Ensure
affordability
of
housing,
energy
and
transport
• Improve
transportation
options
for
residents
• Increase
the
energy
efficiency
of
buildings
• Expand
renewable
energy
systems
The
NRV’s
population
of
residents
age
65
and
older
will
double
in
most
communities
by
2030
Meanwhile,
the
under
25
population
is
declining
in
Giles
and
Pulaski

10. • Trends:
– 50%
of
the
NRV’s
housing
stock
was
built
prior
to
1974.
There
will
be
considerable
demand
for
new
single-­‐family
homes,
particularly
in
Montgomery
&
Floyd
counties
– The
NRV
will
remain
car
dependent
with
limited
rural
public
transportation
options,
causing
a
significant
cost
burden
for
individuals
who
have
a
longer
commute
from
home
to
work
Enhancing
Living
&
Working
Environments
–
Trends
&
Goals

11. • Goal
2:
Ensure
availability
of
housing,
energy
and
transportation
• Some
Strategies:
– Provide
incentives
to
homebuilders
and
developers
for
developing
affordable
housing
– Encourage
the
public,
private
and
nonprofit
sectors
to
work
together
to
increase
the
number
of
homes
near
job
centers
– Promote
the
maintenance
and
renovation
of
existing
manufactured
housing
subdivisions
(mobile
homes)
– Provide
incentives
for
repair
and
renovation
of
existing
housing
as
well
as
retrofits
to
promote
energy
efficiency
Enhancing
Living
&
Working
Environments
–
Trends
&
Goals

12. Preserving
Rural
Heritage
&
Community
Character
• Encourage
development
that
preserves
rural
character
• Protect
natural
landscapes
and
ecosystems
• Recognize
and
strengthen
natural,
cultural
and
historic
assets
• Support
arts,
culture
and
community
character

13. • Trends:
– National
forests,
state
parks,
and
privately
conserved
lands
will
continue
to
protect
important
natural
resources
and
will
increasingly
serve
as
a
draw
for
outdoor
recreation
and
tourism.
– Floyd
County,
in
particular,
can
expect
to
see
more
large-­‐lot
development
with
farmland
shifting
slowly
but
steadily
into
low
density
rural
residential
properties.
– Montgomery
County
is
becoming
more
suburbanized
near
major
employment
centers,
with
more
dense
housing
and
commercial
development
along
its
major
road
corridors.
Preserving
Rural
Heritage
&
Community
Character
–
Trends
&
Goals

14. • Goal
8:
Recognize
and
strengthen
natural,
cultural
and
historic
assets
• Some
strategies:
– Restore
and
redevelop
downtown
properties
– Integrate
existing
community
character
into
the
design
of
community
core
improvements
– Create
trail
systems
that
connect
town
centers
to
outdoor
destinations
– Establish
a
regional
destination
marketing
organization
and
develop
a
regional
marketing
plan
– Inventory
cultural
assets,
historic
sites
and
related
assets
in
the
NRV
and
identify
priority
sites
for
preservation
Preserving
Rural
Heritage
&
Community
Character
–
Trends
&
Goals

15. Making
the
Business
Environment
More
Productive
&
Resilient
• Enhance
education
and
workforce
readiness
• Support
the
infrastructure
needed
for
economic
develo
• pment
• Support
small
business
development
• Strengthen
agricultural
viability

16. • Trends:
– Employment
in
Blacksburg,
Christiansburg
and
Radford
are
experiencing
employment
growth,
while
jobs
in
Pulaski
and
Giles
counties
are
in
decline,
particularly
for
those
without
a
college
education
– Poverty
in
all
communities
in
the
NRV
exceeds
the
state
average,
and
job
growth
is
projected
largely
in
fields
requiring
higher
education
Making
the
Business
Environment
More
Productive
&
Resilient
–
Trends
&
Goals

17. • Goal
10:
Enhance
education
and
workforce
readiness
• Some
strategies:
– Link
job
creation
and
workforce
preparation
strategies
to
create
opportunities
for
lower-­‐skilled
and
lower-­‐income
workers
– Develop
a
career
pathways
task
force
– Work
with
business
leaders
to
increase
opportunities
for
practical
experience
– Work
to
regionalize
training
and
education
resources
Making
the
Business
Environment
More
Productive
&
Resilient
–
Trends
&
Goals

18. Building
Healthy
Communities
• Ensure
access
to
healthcare
• Create
healthy
environments
• Promote
healthy
behaviors
and
lifestyles
• Support
children
and
youth
reaching
their
full
potential
• Protect
and
improve
water
resources
In
the
NRV,
the
mortality
rates
for
prescription
drug
abuse
are
3X
higher
than
the
state
average
and
rates
in
Giles
and
Pulaski
counties
are
4X
higher
and
6X
higher
respectively

19. • Trends:
– Where
you
live
in
the
NRV
can
lead
to
significant
differences
in
access
and
consumption
of
healthy
food
– With
the
exception
of
Floyd,
residents
across
the
region
generally
live
close
enough
to
medical
centers
and
hospitals
– The
NRV
faces
significant
challenges
in
dealing
with
substance
abuse
Building
Healthy
Communities
–
Trends
&
Goals

20. • Goal
16:
Promote
healthy
behaviors
• Some
strategies:
– Coordinate
resources
to
reduce
rates
of
teen
pregnancy
– Expand
substance
abuse
treatment
options
• Goal
17:
Support
children
reaching
their
full
potential
• Some
strategies:
– Provide
after
school
programs
to
support
at-­‐risk
youth
– Expand
and
improve
quality
prenatal
care
and
early
childhood
programs
including
preschool
programs
and
daycare
Building
Healthy
Communities
–
Trends
&
Goals

21. From
Vision
to
Ac&on
“It
has
become
clear
that
pursuit
of
the
vision
for
the
future
that
has
emerged
is
not
likely
to
be
the
responsibility
of
any
single
organization
or
sector.
There
exists
great
potential
for
collaboration
across
the
region
to
better
meet
the
needs
of
citizens,
leveraging
all
sectors
of
society
including
local
and
regional
governments,
private
businesses
as
well
as
non-­‐profits
and
voluntary
citizen
initiatives.”

22. From
Vision
to
Ac&on
• Identifying
Leaders
• Sharing
Information
• Providing
Space
for
Collaboration
• Building
&
Sharing
Resources

23. • General
Leadership:
– Community
Founda&on
of
the
NRV
– NRV
Planning
District
Commission
• Health-­‐Based
Leadership
– Partnership
for
Access
to
Healthcare
(PATH);
consis&ng
of
50
public
and
private
partners
– Local
universi&es
–
Virginia
Tech
– New
River
Health
District
Identifying
Leaders

24. • Mechanisms
for
dissemina8ng
informa8on:
– Livability
&
Health
Final
Reports
– PATH
Mee&ngs
– Livability
NewsleOer
(Begins
2015)
highligh&ng
key
projects,
accomplishments
and
data
– Annual
Informa&on
Exchange
with
community
leaders
– Informal
networks
among
partners
Sharing
Information

25. • Contexts
for
collabora&on:
– Working
Groups
&
Networks
(PATH)
– Community
Founda&on
ac&vi&es:
• Third
Thursday
Society
• “Sandbox”
type
events
– Web/Social-­‐media
based
forums
Providing
Space
for
Collaboration

26. • CFNRV
Grants
• GiveBigNRV
online
giving
pla^orm
• Addi&onal
grant
sources
for
collabora&ve
projects
• Shared
investment
by
partners
Building
&
Sharing
Resources
cfnrv.givebig.org

27. Emerging
Programs
&
Partnerships
Aging
Successfully
at
Home
and
in
Our
Urban
&
Rural
Communities
2013
Norman
&
Nancy
Eiss
Community
Impact
Grant:
Habitat
for
Humanity
of
the
NRV
for
it’s
Critical
Home
Repair
Lowering
the
Cost
and
Complexity
of
Residential
Solar:
Pilot
project
launched
in
Blacksburg!

28. • Funding
sought
for
health
impact
assessment
• Funding
sought
for
pedestrian
safety
improvements
in
downtown
Christiansburg
• Funding
sought
for
collecting
neonatal
health
data
• GIS
Mapping
Partnership
for
diseases,
well
and
septic
systems
• Cost
sharing
a
staff
position
at
the
Planning
District
Commission
focused
on
health
with
the
New
River
Health
District
Emerging
Programs
&
Partnerships
in
Community
Health

29. • Integra&ng
community
health
into
a
variety
of
areas:
– Housing
– Educa&on
– Environmental
Quality
• Providing
a
model
for
regional
collabora&on
that
asks
us
to
define
topics
broadly
and
iden&fy
intersec&ons
between
topics
• Developing
new
avenues
for
funding
and
partnership
So
what?

30. • In
rural
contexts
especially,
increased
collabora&on
oaen
means
increased
impact
• Health
issues
are
complex
and
need
to
be
addressed
with
that
in
mind,
that
means
a
greater
investment
of
&me
and
resources
• Effec&ve
funders
should
be
funding
both
the
costs
of
collabora&ve
planning
and
the
projects
that
emerge
from
that
planning
So
what?...from
a
funder’s
perspective

31. Questions
&
Discussion