It is imperative that all of the following information be provided in full. Incomplete applications will not be accepted. Submit only one (1) project for one (1) award category per application. Please direct any questions about the awards program to Alex Magee at 850-201-3272 or fapa@floridaplanning.org
Mail complete award application entries including electronic versions of all materials and a check for the application fee payable to APA Florida Chapter. Please assure that the project name is on the check. Entries must be received by the Chapter Office, 2017 Delta Boulevard, Suite 201,
Tallahassee, Florida 32303 by 5:00 PM, Friday, April 24, 2015 – no exceptions. (Student Project
Award applications are due by 5:00 p.m., Friday, May 8, 2015.) Materials received after this date will not be accepted and will not be returned.
Applicant Information
The Applicant will be considered the primary contact to the Chapter for all decisions made on this application and will work with APA Florida staff to obtain additional information and materials.
Name Beth Alden, AICP
Organization Hillsborough Metropolitan Planning Organization and the Planning Commission
Title
Address
City, State. Zip
Executive Director of the Hillsborough Metropolitan Planning Organization
601 E Kennedy Boulevard, 18 th Floor
Tampa, FL 33602
Phone / E-mail 813/273-3774 x318 aldenb@plancom.org
I certify that the submitted work was done by the parties credited in this Awards Application Form, and that the work meets the appropriate nomination submittal requirements listed herein.
Applicant’s Signature _____________________________________

Project Name Imagine Hillsborough 2040
Author(s) Hillsborough Metropolitan Planning Organization and the Planning Commission
Award Category Planning Project Award
(highlighted)
Comprehensive Plan Award
(Large Jurisdiction)
Comprehensive Plan Award
(Small Jurisdiction)
Grassroots Initiative Award
Neighborhood Planning Award
Best Practices Award
Outstanding Student Project Award
An electronic copy of the planning document or project must accompany this application.
Describe the setting, time frame, significance to the planning field, innovations in theory, methodology and/or practice and other unique aspects to the application. (Max. 500 words)
Imagine Hillsborough 2040 garnered the greatest amount of public participation ever achieved by the Hillsborough MPO and the Planning Commission. Imagine 2040 is a two part public education campaign with a call-to-action for citizens who live, work, or play in Hillsborough County to participate in planning for the future. Using an online tool called MetroQuest, a customized, interactive survey was developed to encourage meaningful participation in a fun, game-like setting.
Making choices comparable to a comparative shopping experience, citizens across our region were invited to share thoughts and new ideas with respect to the Imagine 2040 scenarios, or strategies –
Suburban Dream, Bustling Metro, and New Corporate Centers. Participation occurred in a variety of ways - from small neighborhood meetings to large community events and through technology, so anyone could have their say on how our region should grow without having to leave the comfort of home.
In Imagine 2040 : Part 1 - Design Hillsborough’s future now! (August 16 – November 11, 2013) -
More than 3,500 people who live, work, and play in our region weighed in on long-range strategies for growth, development, and transportation, giving more than 91,500 choices and comments.
Imagine 2040 was featured at 94 events, while three interactive kiosks rotated to 49 locations throughout the county.
In Imagine 2040 : Part 2 - You spoke. We listened. Tell us more! (July 10 – September 3, 2014) -
More than 2,400 citizens spoke up on the future of transportation and growth. Over an eight week

period, culminating with an interactive display at Florida's Largest Home Show over Labor Day weekend, opinions were sought focusing on transportation needs from a wide spectrum of groups at
65 events as well as from the comfort of people's offices and homes online. Part 2 was designed for today's on-line shopper, complete with pictures, product specs, and price tags, to make it easy for everyone to tell us more about land use growth strategies for Hillsborough County and their own neighborhoods. And, with limited funding available, consider which transportation investments will best support a prosperous future.
The strategy behind making Imagine 2040 dramatically easier to participate in – to go beyond the
‘usual suspects’ of regular meeting-goers, and inspire community support of the Imagine 2040 Vision they were part of developing. Use of public-private partnerships, creative marketing partnerships, and innovative technologies (like MetroQuest, Poll Everywhere texting surveys in meetings, kiosks, iPads, etc.) worked together to broaden participation and elevate the conversation about what is needed to have a more secure and thriving future for our region. Input from Imagine 2040 has been used to guide the development of the Plan Hillsborough 2040 Transportation Plan, which was adopted in November 2014, and is currently being used to update the Comprehensive Plans for
Tampa, Temple Terrace, Plant City, and Hillsborough County. These results will support ongoing public engagement towards determining what transportation improvements are most critical to connect and support a growing, resilient economy.

To be used for the award handout at the annual conference. (Max. 100 words)
With nearly 6,000 survey participants, Imagine 2040 garnered the greatest amount of public participation achieved by the Hillsborough County Metropolitan Planning Organization and Planning
Commission. Using interactive technology and storytelling to visualize simplified alternative futures and ask substantive questions to the public, the envelope of programs like MetroQuest and Poll
Everywhere was pushed as no client had done before. No opportunity was wasted to tell our stories and ask for feedback and new ideas on how our region should grow – at civic groups, community events, Home Shows, in newspapers, using social media, and online from the comfort of home.
How does the entry present a visionary approach or innovative concept to address needs? How does the use of the planning process in this context broaden accepted planning principles within the context of the situation? (Max. 200 words)
At the 14th Annual New Partners for Smart Growth
Conference highlighting practical tools and innovative strategies for creating great communities, the Open
Planning Tools Group (OPTG) gave an Innovation
Award to Imagine 2040. Receiving the Exemplary
Implementation Award for utilizing planning tools in an innovative manner to create effective public engagement or improved analysis supporting the resolution of a significant challenge, Imagine 2040’s use of fun, interactive tools like MetroQuest and Poll
Everywhere encouraged citizens and businesses to participate online, in workshops, and at touchscreen kiosks in the creation of a vision for 2040 to guide growth and development in Hillsborough County.
Our three simplified stories of alternative futures are considered a national model by the FHWA Scenario Planning Peer Exchange. The resulting vision represents a turning point for the region, calling for smart growth and powerful synergies between land use and transportation. Innovative technologies allowed citizens to weigh various choices and leave extensive comments. Combined with multi-layered education program, savvy use of news and social media, creative ways to get the message out, and the wide net cast through our public-private partnership with Florida’s Largest Home Show, Imagine 2040 took planning education and engagement to a whole new level.

How does the project represent excellence of thought, analysis, writing, and graphics, regardless of budgetary limitations? How were available resources used in a thoughtful and ethical process? (Max.
200 words)
The Hillsborough MPO and Planning Commission teamed up to take a whole new approach, conjoining land use and transportation planning to achieve a vision to guide the 2040 Transportation
and Comprehensive Plans using a broad spectrum of techniques to attract a diverse audience. This creative approach made what could be a dry topic, relevant and relatable. Use of children in our graphics, recruiting students to be part of our Imagine 2040 Working Group, and using college campuses as venues for kiosks and events further emphasized the importance of planning for the future today.
Nearly 6,000 citizens actively participated in creating the Imagine2040 Vision, which included assuring kiosks and community meetings in areas and for groups of the traditionally underserved.
Working together with the Cities of Tampa, Temple Terrace, Plant City and Hillsborough County, our marketing partners, and great community volunteers, Imagine 2040 was very cost effective. Our public-private partnership with Florida’s Largest Home Show and coordination with the Hillsborough
County Property Appraiser and Tax Collector allowed us to reach significantly more people than ever before. Negotiated partnerships with the Tampa Bay Times, Osprey Observer, and the Patch also allowed us to extend our reach far beyond our budget.

How does the project have potential application for others and how does use of the entry’s components and methodology would further the cause of good planning? (Max. 200 words)
For public engagement and applications of state-of-the-art tools and technologies, Imagine 2040 is highly transferable as a model to foster greater participation in planning while maximizing exposure and budget through public-private partnerships and creative marketing cooperatives. Combining planning initiatives by developing a vision directly tying transportation and land use strategies in support of economic development is not only a more comprehensive way to plan for future, but also a way to foster a better understanding of why planning is important while maximizing opportunities for broader public engagement.
Forecasting performance measures as part of Imagine 2040 also gave more meaning to the public dialogue about the long range cost-feasible plan. It can be difficult for citizens and elected leaders to conceptualize the benefits of the big-ticket investments that often appear in such a plan.
Performance measures give something to relate to, especially when compared with present day conditions. This gives both citizens and decision-makers a basis to consider potential funding sources to meet not only today’s needs in a time of declining funding, but also to address the expanded needs coming with future growth – a challenge facing planners and communities across our country.
How have planning principles been observed, especially in consideration of the entry’s effects on other public objectives? (Max. 200 words)
Hillsborough County is a key economic and employment center for the region. Major topics rising to the top of the comments received include issues critical to improving our quality of life, like better connections, choices, and funding for transportation improvements; supporting safe bicycling and walking; filling in and reusing in already developed areas; and building walkable communities and homes near transit. Input from Imagine 2040 has already been used to guide the development of the
Plan Hillsborough 2040 Transportation Plan, adopted in November 2014, and is currently being used to update the Comprehensive Plans for Tampa, Temple Terrace, Plant City and Hillsborough County.
The updates will focus on people, places, and natural spaces, and will continue to offer urban,
suburban, and rural lifestyle choices. By focusing development more towards the urban core, our many agricultural and natural assets will continue to have their space preserved in Hillsborough
County. Imagine 2040 produced the biggest, most meaningful comment data base ever achieved by the MPO and Planning Commission.
For the first time, the metropolitan transportation plan includes investments to make key infrastructure less vulnerable to severe weather and climate change. The high, medium, and low investment levels for Safety & Security were developed with a FHWA Vulnerability Assessment and
Adaptation Pilot Project grant, one of a handful in the country.

(This is not a criterion for the Outstanding Student Project Award)
What steps were taken to build momentum and public support for following and implementing the project? (Max. 200 words)
A key component was a Public-Private Partnership with Turner Expositions launched in January
2014, allowing the Planning Commission and MPO to create walk-through interactive planning displays for the tens of thousands of citizens from throughout our region that attend Florida’s
Largest Home Shows. This partnership fosters ongoing engagement, capitalizing on a market where people looking to invest in home improvement are able to exchange ideas on improving quality of life in our community.
The scenario planning exercise did more than illustrate and educate. It also created usable forecasts of growth, land consumption, and transportation demand, becoming very literally the foundation of the 2040 Transportation Plan and Comprehensive Plan updates, all of which are in various stages of adoption. By looking at all five local plans together, Imagine 2040 also allowed for discussion of how the decisions in each affect the others.
These results clearly reinforce environmentally sustainable growth, protection of water resources, and energy conservation; while reinforcing preservation of our amazing natural assets and agricultural land. Creation of jobs through sustainable economic development practices and fostering quality communities, continuing to support diversity in housing options with a mix of housing types and urban, suburban and rural lifestyle choices are what has been set forth. The
2040 Plan encourages compact and mixed-use development and promotes transit and transit-oriented development, which will greatly improve the quality of life for the region.

How various public interests involved and what were was the extent of that involvement? How does the project demonstrate a strong effort to solicit input from those who historically have been left out of the planning process? How were those affected brought into the planning process? How did the project obtain public and private support? (Max. 200 words)
A multi-layered public engagement approach!
Both phases -

Rack cards distributed on buses, by concierge, at meetings
 Extensive social media & eNewsletters
 Imagine 2040 Working Group
Part 1 -
 Media Day Launch Party at County Center ( http://youtu.be/oeD1yp4tV_Y )
 PSA featuring local news personalities ( https://vimeo.com/71976843 )
 500,000 12-page newspaper inserts ( http://tampabay.com/designhillsborough ) in local newspapers and at meetings, events, and displays

94 public meetings or events
 Meeting-in-a-Box

Lesson Plan for county schools

Kiosks at employment and community centers, libraries, malls, and special events

Tampabay.com online advertising including http://tampabay.com/imagine2040 + on Tax
Collector’s website

Newspaper wrap ad to announce end date extension
Part 2 –

‘Race to the Future’ Media Day Launch Event at Tampa Bay Grand Prix
( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YtjtvZzdFhY&feature=youtu.be
)

Take survey by 8/25/14, get FREE ticket to Florida’s Largest Labor Day Weekend Home Show

453,000 rack cards in tax notices to every property owner via County Property Appraiser
 Extensive online media campaign on tampabay.com and with the Osprey Observer (print also) and Patch - neighborhoods throughout our region, and on The Green ARTery website
 Gigantic display at Florida’s Largest Home Show, featuring the full Lego display of Tampa,
Hillsborough
County Public
Works display, and iPad stations for live surveying over
Labor Day
Weekend!

Custom fortune cookies

What was the role, significance and participation of planners? Was there a connection between the effort’s success and increased awareness in the community of planners and planning? (Max. 200 words)
Beyond this process being deeply rooted in solid planning principles, planners prioritized a commitment to meaningful public engagement, as well as local and regional interagency coordination and public‐private partnerships. The Imagine 2040 results clearly reinforce environmentally sustainable growth, protection of water resources, and energy conservation; preservation of our amazing natural assets and agricultural land. Creation of jobs through sustainable economic development practices and fostering quality communities, continuing to support diversity in housing options with a mix of housing types and urban, suburban, and rural lifestyle choices are what has been set forth. The 2040 Plan encourages compact and mixed-use development and promotes transit and transit-oriented development.
Given today’s economy and political climate, the challenge for planners is to better hear what the citizens feel is a necessity and to find a way to do more with less. Seeking creative solutions with citizens as well as both and private entities is the wave of the future. Together with planners, more citizens than ever before who live, work, and play in Hillsborough County have imagined a 2040
Vision thriving with people, places, and natural spaces, and more lifestyle choices and better connections throughout our region.
Effectiveness
How did the project address the need or problem that prompted its initiation? How have the results made a difference in the lives of people affected? What level of effectiveness has the project had over time? (Max. 200 words)
Hillsborough’s residents may soon face a tough choice about whether to tax themselves for transportation.
Imagine 2040 gave people the information to learn where their money is going today, and what could be achieved at higher levels of investment. The interactive tool let individuals make choices on their own ideal investment program, then rolled all those choices together to inform countywide policy.
Although we haven’t had a successful transportation funding referendum (yet!), Imagine 2040

results are being used to support the current GO Hillsborough decision-making process about putting one on the ballot. The results are also part of the County’s on-going discussions on whether/where/when to expand the urban service boundary and on a mobility fee that better stages development and incentivizes smart growth.
Finally, new federal regulations demand that metropolitan transportation plans show measurable progress towards safety, maintenance, traffic management, and other goals. Imagine 2040 is at the cutting edge of performance-based planning as a demonstration project in the SHRP 2 program for safety and reliability long-range forecasting. Perhaps more importantly, Imagine 2040’s simplified financial scenarios turned performance outcomes – at low, medium, and high investment levels in four categories of projects – into the building blocks of the cost-feasible transportation plan.
Education (This is a criterion for only the Grassroots Initiative Award)
How has the project encouraged community leaders to revise their opinions about the varied uses and broad applications of the planning process? What influence has the project had on public awareness beyond those immediately affected? What connection is there between the effort's success and increased awareness in the community of planners and planning? (Max. 200 words)