Envision Bend has released the community’s next five-year Vision Action Plan! It’s a significant milestone and we’re proud to be a partner organization to this project.

Envision Bend reaches back to 2005 and the original Bend 2030 visioning project sponsored by the City of Bend. The most participatory conversation in the city’s history, it resulted in a Vision Action Plan, a generation of achievements by our partners, and ongoing conversations about issues that matter to the community. The Vision Action Plan is a comprehensive and strategic roadmap aimed at guiding the greater Bend area towards positive transformation over the next 5 years. It encompasses a holistic community vision and a set of unifying shared values. 

The latest Vision Action Plan on behalf of the city of Bend came together after 17 months of widespread community outreach and visioning, shaped by over 2,400 residents who shared insights and ideas in 2022. In spring 2023, four action teams came together to analyze this input and develop strategies to address our community’s challenges. This culminated in the Vision Action Plan, outlining a series of 28 strategic actions designed to guide the greater Bend area into a more resilient, sustainable, and prosperous future. 

This 44-page plan is organized around four pivotal focus areas:

• Guiding our Growth
• Ensuring a Safe, Healthy Environment
• Building an Economy for Everyone
• Cultivating an Inclusive Community

Within each focus area, you will find a “game changer” project that promises transformative impact, a few additional strategies, and a “quick win” project. These initiatives address a wide spectrum of challenges and issues, including workforce housing, homelessness, child care, health and wellness, climate change, commercial redevelopment, job training, food security, public transit, trail systems, pedestrian corridors, and historic preservation.

Now, Envision Bend is recruiting local government entities, nonprofit organizations, and community groups to lead the implementation of these strategies and make our vision a reality. The Vision Action Plan identifies 128 potential partnering organizations, and our organization could play a key role in guiding and supporting the implementation of the Vision Action Plan over the next five years.