Background Information
Visioning 2026 is a community-wide project that will identify future trends that will have a major impact on the Norfolk area and help prepare Norfolk and Madison County for the ever-changing, sometimes unpredictable, environment of the future.
Why now? Ever accelerating change requires investigating future trends and coming up with several possibilities to pursue to prepare our communities for the future. A small investment in time now will help prepare us for the future in 2026.
Visioning 2026 is a five step process involving:
This process began as a result of an editorial written by Kent Warneke in the Norfolk Daily News, and the project is now a partnership of the Norfolk Daily News, along with the City of Norfolk, Madison County, Northeast Community College, the Norfolk Area Chamber of Commerce, the Norfolk Public Schools and the Leadership Norfolk Program.
For a complete overview of the process please read the concept paper.
Graduates from the Norfolk Leadership class became project team leaders, known as the local Master Capacity Builders, developed the 5-step process after a better understanding
when they completed the Third Millennial Center concept paper. (12 page, PDF, 57KB)
The Third Millennial Center concept paper integrates
- multi-generational living facilities,
- high bandwidth communications architecture,
- technology laboratory, demonstration, and education center,
- entertainment and recreation activities,
- food and eating operations,
- along with information and knowledge kiosk center(s), and
- an eco-friendly natural landscape environment with
- renewable energy resources.