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Vision
Vision
Schenectady Mayor Brian Stratton, the City Council, Planning Commission
and dozens of people have contributed to Schenectady 2020 Comprehensive
Plan Reinventing the City of Invention. The plan is
available off of the city of Schenectady website.
As part of the
Schenectady 2020 plan, the City has created nine neighborhood plans, one
for each of the primarily residential neighborhoods in Schenectady and a
tenth focusing on downtown Schenectady.
Excerpt from the plan
introduction (page 3)
The planning process has built considerable momentum in recent
years, fueled in part by the Metroplex Development Authority and other
community partners. Construction of MVP and DOT office buildings,
the Proctor's Block including the expansion of Proctors Theatre, Little
Italy and North Jay Street improvements, street-scaping, the Business
Improvement Districts, waterfront planning, improvements by Union
College on and around the campus, and brownfield redevelopments, such as
College Park, are part of a growing list of accomplishments which the
plan will unite and advance.
Smart Growth Plan
When the City of Schenectady's last comprehensive plan was prepared
in 1971 the idea of "smart growth" was unfamiliar and trade-offs between
live-ability, preservation, and economic expansion were commonplace.
This plan's emphasis on smart growth encourages development that serves
the economy, community, and the environment.
A divergent national
coalition of 32 organizations called the Smart Growth Network came
together to support smart growth by adopting a set of 10 principles.
These help communities recognize and value what smart growth is and
identify strategies to achieve it. The Schenectady 2020 vision plan
adopts the following principles and recognizes that the actions
recommended in this plan will need to be put into practice:
Mix land uses
Take advantage of compact
building design
Create a range of housing
opportunities and choices
Create walk-able
neighborhoods
Foster distinctive,
attractive communities with a strong sense of place
Preserve open space,
farmland, natural beauty and critical environmental areas
Strengthen and direct
development towards existing communities
Provide a variety of
transportation choices
Make development decision
predictable, fair and cost-effective
Encourage community and
stakeholder collaboration in development decisions.
Vision Statement
Schenectady is a city rich in history and heritage and the very
birthplace of American technical innovation. Today, Schenectady
remains a culturally diverse, yet contemporary community of proud people
who believe a brighter future lies within the strengths for their city's
many assets, including beautiful parks, dynamic and architecturally
unique neighborhoods and the Mohawk River. Now, through 2020,
Schenectady will actively build upon this foundation of strength to
become a highly preferred destination for Capital Region families of all
cultures and faiths, who seek quality homes and better schools in safe
neighborhoods. They will be joined by businesses both large and
small, both cultural and technical, seeking to expand with the benefit
of an outstanding and educated workforce and to thrive within a city
poised to continue its proud history of American achievement.
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