A Shared Vision For Golden Valley's Future

Envision Golden Valley

Successful cities, like their counterparts in business, need a vision and a plan for the future. Envision Golden Valley blossomed into a citizen-led community initiative in 2002, when the City of Golden Valley partnered with the Golden Valley Rotary to develop an inclusive and accessible visioning process.

Envision Volunteers

More than 70 trained Envision volunteers asked their fellow citizens about their hopes and ideas for their city's future in six overlapping categories: Development, Transportation, Community Engagement, Environment, Recreation, and Government. When challenged to think about Golden Valley's future, more than 600 people responded.

Community Vision

Many of the resulting expressions of community vision harmonize into broad themes of agreement. Hundreds of ideas speak about the physical city but also address its soul. We want safe, quiet neighborhoods, less traffic, and a more distinctive downtown. But we also call for-directly and between the lines-a city that satisfies our needs for beauty, affiliation, and social betterment.

These viewpoints and opinions coalesced into the glimmer of a community vision that can be expressed in two core ideas: Creatively Connecting People and Places, and Inspiring Care for Community.

Creatively Connecting People & Places

Golden Valley's location at the axis of urban density and suburban tranquility makes us acutely aware of our connections to a greater whole. We enjoy the access afforded by the highway system that intersects our community but want to reduce its impact on our neighborhoods and natural spaces. "Connecting" isn't just about getting from place to place. It's also about bringing people together-by fostering inviting public spaces, vital businesses, and community institutions where people work and play, encounter their fellow citizens, and discover common interests.

Inspiring Care For Community

True community is defined not by borders, but by its common ground. As individuals, families, neighborhoods, and organizations, our actions protect and enhance the public assets for which we share responsibility:

  • Air, water, wildlife, and landscape
  • Playgrounds, parks, streets, and pathways
  • Good government, education, and public services
  • Safety and welfare of our fellow citizens