Imagine Austin and
Strategic Direction 2023
The Imagine Austin Comprehensive Plan was adopted in 2012 after three years of community engagement and over 18,500 community inputs. Imagine Austin’s vision statement — to be “a beacon of sustainability, social equity, and economic opportunity; where diversity and creativity are celebrated; where community needs and values are recognized; where leadership comes from its citizens and where necessities of life are affordable and accessible to all” — expresses six core principles for action:
• grow as a compact, connected city
• integrate nature into the city
• provide paths to prosperity for all
• develop as an affordable and healthy community
• sustainably manage water, energy and other environmental resources
• think creatively and work together
Imagine Austin’s core principles for action are reflected in eight priority programs that organize key policies and actions into related groups for coordinated implementation.
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Compact and Connected
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Revise Regulations
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Healthy Austin
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Household Affordability
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Sustainable Water
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Green Infrastructure
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Workforce, Economy, Education
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Creative Economy
With Imagine Austin's planning horizon of 10 years and beyond, the City of Austin recognized an opportunity to develop a strategic plan to ensure internal City operations and functions are in alignment to implement the community's vision expressed in Imagine Austin. With this shared vision, Strategic Direction 2023 utilizes a shorter-term planning horizon, three to five years, to guide the City’s work.
Strategic Direction 2023
The City of Austin is focused on improving the quality of life and civic participation in the Austin community. In March 2018, the City Council adopted Strategic Direction 2023 (SD23) to guide the City’s budget and day-to-day operations for the next three to five years. The five-year strategic plan was developed within the guidelines of Imagine Austin, which flourished from an extensive community engagement process that laid out a 30-year vision for our community. To further the City’s long-term vision and aspiration of being one of the most unique, thriving, and livable cities in the country, the City Council chose to focus City operations and budgets around six strategic outcomes:
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Mobility: Getting us where we want to go, when we want to get there, safely and cost-effectively.
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Economic Opportunity & Affordability: Having economic opportunities and resources that enable us to thrive in our community.
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Safety: Being safe in our home, at work, and in our community.
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Health & Environment: Enjoying a sustainable environment and a healthy life, physically and mentally.
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Culture & Lifelong Learning: Being enriched by Austin's unique civic, cultural, ethnic, and learning opportunities.
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Government That Works for All: Believing that city government works effectively and collaboratively for all of us - that it is equitable, ethical and innovative.
The City is committed to fostering complete communities where every Austinite, in every stage of life, has access to opportunities to experience and contribute to each of the SD23 outcomes. There are many commonalities between the eight Imagine Austin Priority Programs and the six Strategic Outcomes, but there are not always one-to-one matches.
