The Council is supporting the work of the Forging the Future Task Force and citizens that participated in the community process by posting the Forging the Future Task Force Report here.

The project was funded by the City of Tallahassee, the Leon County Board of County Commissioners, the Knight Foundation, and generous contributions from local agencies and individuals. The Council served as project fiscal agent and numerous members were actively involved.

This is a description of Tallahassee/Leon County in the near future. It is what we want our community to become. This vision demands bold leadership and united action.

Learning and personal growth are at the center of life in Florida's Capital Community.

Organizations, businesses, and institutions utilize their resources to make a community-wide commitment to learning and to strengthening the economic base.
We enjoy and sustain an extraordinary quality of life.
We are an exemplary capital community, the pride of Florida.

Our unmatched assets: the state capital; beautiful natural environment and favorable climate; moderate size; two national public universities; a major community college and vo-tech center; public and private schools; Florida Department of Education and Board of Regents; National High Magnetic Field Laboratory; regional medical facilities; and a superior technological and communications base.

We are the Capital for Learning because:

Learning is understood in the community as lifelong and as the ultimate form of self-improvement.

The community successfully implemented a 5-year plan which raised our public schools' student performance to the top 10% in the nation; we expect the best from our teachers, students, and parents.

Economic development, spurred by growth in the "knowledge" sector, has significantly increased average incomes, job creation, and employment opportunities for all. More dollars flow in than out.

The community seeks, prepares, and supports visionary leaders; we are willing to test new solutions.

Our economy has diversified and strengthened as goods and services produced here gained regional and global markets; economic reliance on the government sector has declined; we have learned how to create an environment conducive to business success.

The community works cross-culturally, valuing and bringing together all diverse sectors.

Our educational institutions are strongly supported by the community. They contribute significantly to setting and achieving community priorities.

Learning includes creativity in arts and culture, community problem solving, and enterprise.

Our technology assets are accessible and are utilized to speed the flow of information between people inside and outside our community.

 

We are the Capital for Living because:

We are a community of friendly and caring people.

We have effective, responsive community leaders who work well together and are worthy of trust.

We have a wealth of activities and choices available to our citizens, for recreation, culture, service, health care, shopping, and learning.

We embrace ethnic, cultural, and personal diversity.

We cherish our historical heritage.

We have healthy neighborhoods throughout our community that give residents a sense of belonging.

We have a vibrant downtown serving as both a catalyst for economic development and a center of community life.

We nurture our beautiful natural environment, our distinctive canopy roads, our rural settings, and we ensure an equally pleasing built environment through sound planning.

We make economic and employment opportunities available in all segments of our community.

We deal responsibly with transportation and accessibility needs.

We make decisions which promise future residents an even better community than we enjoy today.

The State of Florida supports and benefits from our vision. State government is a strong strategic and financial partner in creating this nationally recognized community for learning and living, a major economic asset for our state, and an exemplary capital city, the pride of Florida.