These visioning images communicated how the choices made today will shape what the region becomes tomorrow. These development scenarios portray realistic city and townscape images, representing real choices and development patterns available to planners and citizens today. The visualization changes to this site included increasing residential and commercial densities to support the regional rail stop proposed in this vicinity. The Current Development pattern characterized by homes, workplaces, and shops that are separated from one another and dispersed across the region's landscape. The pattern is largely determined by market forces and the decisions of individual landowners and local jurisdictions.
Mobility relies heavily on automobile travel.
Conserving open space and natural areas depends on the individual actions of towns, cities, counties, non-profit groups, and state and federal agencies. Many of these neighborhoods are oriented along high-quality transit corridors, with transit service becoming a more viable option for travel, although auto travel remains the only option in many areas. A regionally coordinated network of green space that expands the amount of land conserved for parks and natural areas is created. It also includes a web of open space, but adds a concerted effort to created a clearer distinction between urban and rural areas of the region. A greater share of new development is guided into a more compact regional form so that urban services can be provided more efficiently and the rural character of much of the region can be retained for future generations.