Connect JXN - Information and Timeline

Connecting
with you to
create the city
of the future.

MEET THE TEAM
• City of Jackson Planning Department
• Central Mississippi Planning and
Development District
• One Voice Mississippi, Inc.
• Planning Board
• Mayor and Council
• YOU - Community Members

What is Connect
JXN?
• Connect JXN is the new comprehensive
plan for the City of Jackson.
• Connect JXN is a framework to realize our
collective vision for the City of Jackson in
2040.
• It is the highest-level expression of the
city’s vision and the playbook for achieving
the vision.

What is Connect
JXN?
• Connect JXN is a look back at foundational
systems that built Jackson and the metro
area into its current state.
• Connect JXN is a look at who we are today
and also look forward at who we want to
be.

What is Connect
JXN?
• This look back can’t be done without
acknowledging the deeply rooted inequity
and disparity at the foundation of this city.
• The look forward must respond to these
foundational issues.

Why are we
planning?
• To be proactive about our future
• To analyze and identify factors shaping our
community
• To build the platform for our land use laws
• To respond to changes since the last plan
• To remove barriers to investment caused by
out-of-date planning documents
• To build consensus for future decisions
• Mississippi State Code requires it

How will it be used?
• Vision: The highest-level expression of a
community’s future aspirations
• Framework: Blueprint for the community’s
long-range future
• Policies: Compass that guides decision-making
• Actions: Playbook for achieving the vision
• Branding: Messaging tool articulating the
community’s vision

Who will use it?
• Planning Commission and Council will use the plan when
reviewing site plans, rezoning requests, and other land
development regulations.
• Administration will use the plan when setting funding
priority and capital improvements.
• City departments and staff will use it to set work
priorities.
• The Planning Department will lead the implementation
of the initiatives and projects to implement priorities
• The Public will use it to hold the city accountable to
decision making priorities.

Timeline
• September 2020 - Project Kickoff Joint Planning
Commission and City Council
• September 2020 – May 2021 - Phase 1 Engagement
Surveys, Focus Groups, and Stakeholder Interviews
• June 2021 – Phase 2 Engagement Kickoff Joint Planning
Commission and City Council Town Hall
• July 2021 - September 2021 - Phase 2 Engagement
• Framework Meetings to develop policy solutions for each
framework
• Issue Specific Town Hall Meetings on topics like blight,
housing, and land use
• Additional Online Engagement
• Fall 2021 – Draft Plan Released
• Fall 2021 – Plan Adoption

Engagement
Phase 1

OVER 3,000
PEOPLE ENGAGED
OVER 2,100 SURVEY RESPONSES
14 FOCUS GROUPS CONDUCTED
OVER 70,000 WATER BILL INSERTS
MEDIA APPEARANCES & COVERAGE
NEIGHBORHOOD MEETINGS
TOWN HALL
TONIGHT

SURVEY RESPONSES
ZIP CODE
GENDER
600
2% 2%
Male
500
400
Female
300
200
100
0
33%
63%
Other
No
Reponse
39216
39202
39211
39206
39213
39209
39212
39204

SURVEY RESPONSES
450
400
350
300
250
200
150
100
50
0
AGE

SURVEY RESPONSES
RACE
2%
40%
58%
African American Caucasian Other Race

Adjusting for Survey
Gaps
• The survey results were analyzed for gaps
where participation was limited.
• The survey gaps were in South Jackson, and
Hawkins Field area, and West Jackson.
• These areas were targeted with Focus Group
activity to ensure representative participation.
• We also compared responses and found
general consensus between most areas.

Take Aways
Engagement
Phase 1

What We
Heard

CONNECT JXN
THE CITY OF 2040 VISION
THE COMMITMENT STATEMENT
THE FRAMEWORK ELEMENTS
THE POLICIES AND PROJECTS
THE IMPLEMENTATION
THE FINAL PLAN

The 2040
VISION
DRAFT

In the 2040 city of the future:
• Our neighborhoods are more resilient, attractive,
and safe.
• Our neighborhood organizations have tools for
agency and self-determination.
• We have improved access to affordable and healthy
food in all neighborhoods.
• We have increased availability of quality and
affordable housing.
• We have a diversity of housing types that meet
the needs of the community.

In the 2040 city of the future:
• Our economy is expanding and creating opportunities
for generational wealth.
• We are growing our population with dignity.
• We have improved access to capital for investment in
underserved communities.
• We have improved mobility, connections, and
accessibility throughout the built environment.
• We have improved and increased access to parks and
recreational assets.

In the 2040 city of the future:
• We have re-connected to the natural environment.
• We have improved transparency, engagement, and
communication.
• We continue nourishing the city’s soul and reconciling
our history.
• We continue to be a resilient city, community and
people.
• Our communities are the leaders we have been
looking for.

The
Commitment
Statement
DRAFT

Connecting with
History as our Guide
• Planning for equity means
recognizing historical policies and practices
that have had negative impacts
on communities of color.
• Planning for equity means that
we understand our history as a guide for
future planning.

Connecting with
History as our Guide
• Inequality is deeply rooted in the foundation of the City of
Jackson.
• The harm created has affected generation after generation.
• The health, income, and mobility of our communities of
color have been influenced by decisions made in the past.
• The trauma is visible.
• We see it in the blight, generational poverty, disinvestment,
and violence.
• We see it in our housing and educational quality.
• We see entire neighborhoods have been excluded from
accessing capital.

Examples of History
as our Guide
• 1934 New Deal – Federal program that created homeownership
opportunities for whites and required segregation
• Redlining maps used to deny investment for homes and
businesses in black communities
• Federal Housing Administration, FHA required loans to only
go to white people within white areas of Jackson
• White only suburbs
• 1954 Slum Elimination Program – targeted communities that
were mostly neighborhoods of color
• Same area that was redlined 20 years before is now targeted
– communities are broken
• Slum elimination program was justified by crime, health,
slums, fires and juvenile delinquents.
• Yet another layer of damage to communities of color

1934

1954

We commit to confront
systemic inequities as
the foundation of
CONNECT JXN
• We acknowledge that inequality is deeply rooted in the
foundation of the city.
• We acknowledge that these inequalities are
compounded by policies and practices of institutions.
• We will investigate how our systems, policies, and
practices create and maintain inequity.
• We will document and display the results of this
research.
• We will connect with history as our guide to frame the
solutions and policies within this plan.

The
Framework
Elements
DRAFT

Neighborhood
• We have heard that safe and attractive neighborhoods are
at the core of the Connect JXN vision.
• We heard that neighborhood organizations need more
tools, and support from the city.
• We heard that blight reduction and code enforcement
improvements are a top priority.
• We heard that cleanliness is important.
• We heard that safety and infrastructure are the biggest
threats to our neighborhoods.
• We have heard that we need better access to healthy and
affordable food.

Housing
• We have heard that quality and affordable housing is at the
core of the Connect JXN vision.
• We heard that we need a variety of housing types to meet
the demand for both rental and homeownership.
• We have heard utility efficiency is a challenge to housing
affordability.
• We have heard that there is a valuation and lending gap in
many neighborhoods.
• We have also heard that rental housing conditions need city
attention.
• We have heard that more senior housing and new
construction housing are needed.

Opportunity
• We have heard access to opportunity is at the core of the
Connect JXN vision.
• We heard that we need improved access to opportunity in
the form of jobs and youth training.
• We have heard the creation of generational wealth is
critical.
• We have heard that access to capital and lending is a
challenge to business development.
• We have heard there is desire for better retail in
neighborhoods.
• We heard these are the main tools needed to overcome
poverty and crime.
• We also heard that cultural tourism is an opportunity
pathway.

Mobility
• We have heard that mobility options are critical to
supporting opportunity.
• We heard that JTRAN needs to be more efficient and make
better connections.
• We have heard that sidewalks need improvement and
increased accessibility.
• We have heard the desire for expanding trail systems.
• We have heard that we need more and better bike facilities.
• We have heard that new transportation options are needed
to support mobility.
• We have heard that the condition of infrastructure is the
biggest threat to mobility.

Environment
• We have heard that we want to have access to high quality
parks and recreation opportunities.
• We also heard that these should maintained well.
• We heard that we should reconnect to the natural
environment to manage stormwater.
• We have heard increasing recreational connections to the
environment is a big opportunity.
• We have heard the desire for more biking and walking trails.

Administration
• We have heard that transparency of government is
important.
• We also heard that local government processes should be
more accessible.
• We have heard that those processes should be easy for the
public to use.
• We heard that red tape and complicated regulations should
be simplified.
• We have heard that opening a business is difficult.
• We have heard that some processes are burdensome.

What’s
Next?

Help us validate. Did we hear it right?
CONNECT JXN
THE CITY OF 2040 VISION
THE COMMITMENT STATEMENT
THE FRAMEWORK ELEMENTS
THE POLICIES AND PROJECTS
THE IMPLEMENTATION
THE FINAL PLAN

Timeline
• September 2020 - Project Kickoff Joint Planning
Commission and City Council
• September 2020 – May 2021 - Phase 1 Engagement
Surveys, Focus Groups, and Stakeholder Interviews
• June 2021 – Phase 2 Engagement Kickoff Joint Planning
Commission and City Council Town Hall
• July 2021 - September 2021 - Phase 2 Engagement
• Framework Meetings to develop policy solutions for each
framework
• Issue Specific Town Hall Meetings on topics like blight,
housing, and land use
• Additional Online Engagement
• Fall 2021 – Draft Plan Released
• Fall 2021 – Plan Adoption

Participatory
Breakouts

Connecting
with you to
create the city
of the future.

THANK YOU FOR
JOINING US
Drop Comments or Feedback
in Box in Lobby
or
Make Comments at
www.connectjxn.com