Hey Neighbor! Let’s Get Involved: the Quality of Life Planning Process
Your community, your voice, your issues. South Shore needs you – and all of us in the community - to speak out!
Why? Because South Shore is creating a sustainable plan for the future – a blueprint that will impact what happens in our community for years to come. It’s called the Quality of Life Planning (QLP) process. The QLP involves South Shore residents, business owners, and nonprofits. This planning process will help set the stage on a variety of important issues, including housing, small business growth, and more. For example, we know that the future of condominiums in South Shore is an important issue for many people who want to stay in the community. It’s vitally important that residents who live – and want to stay in – South Shore have an opportunity to speak out about this issue and many other issues.
This QLP is being convened by the South Shore Chamber of Commerce, South Shore Works, and the Neighborhood Network Alliance. Last year, we held several virtual meetings for the QLP.
It’s always important for community residents and business owners to share their views and shape the future of the South Shore community. At the moment, we are at an especially urgent time for South Shore, which can benefit from the expected impact of the Obama Presidential Center. We need to be clear and forceful about our community’s assets, priorities, and opportunities for the future.
How can you get involved – and stay involved? For more information and updates on the Quality of Life Plan process, click here. Plus: In the next few months (probably in March and April), we will be holding a series of listening sessions. These sessions will be a great opportunity to provide more input as we develop the plan. Be on the lookout for more information.
Another reason to be involved is so that when we’re making plans for South Shore, those plans reflect the needs of people who actually live here. In some cases, people and organizations that don’t live in a community will get involved in the planning process that’s meant for that community. We don’t want that, we want to hear from you. This is your community, and it’s your voice that matters.
Here’s a little more about QLPs, which may be new to many people in our community. For more than 20 years, communities in Chicago have participated in Quality of Life Plan projects, which have been supported by LISC (Local Initiatives Support Corporation), a non-profit organization that supports community development initiatives across the country. Twenty-seven QLP’s have been completed in Chicago communities, including South Chicago, Auburn Gresham, and Englewood. In many cases, plans created through QLPs have helped lead to investment in Chicago communities.
This is not a short-term, hit it and quit it process. It’s about creating a plan for the future of South Shore. Let’s do that together!
Val Free
Note: Val Free is the project manager for the Quality of Life Planning Process in South Shore under the South Shore Chamber of Commerce.
For more information and updates on the Quality of Life Planning Process, www.reimaginesouthshore.org.
-Val Free, Founder/Chief Executive Officer
