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Health & Fitness

Sustain Harbor Walkability, Views and the Natural Enviroment

Read the draft Harbor Vision statement. It's a forward-looking statement, but I think it has a small flaw. Do you agree with me?

The draft Harbor Vision focuses city policies and budgets to "perpetuate" the working waterfront, "preserve" historic neighborhoods, and "provide" recreational and boater services.

In rather uncommitted contrast, the vision statement indicates that future city residents and guests only "enjoy" walkability, views, and the natural environment.

I would like to have a vision that actively leads toward a sustainable commitment to walkability, views, and the natural environment.  

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As with "perpetuate," "preserve," and "provide," I would prefer the terminology "enjoy and sustain" in reference to walkability, views, and the natural environment.  In the broadest respects, this is matter of commitment to healthy lifestyles.

As it is expressed in the draft, the commitment to working waterfront, historic neighborhoods and guest services appears partly as outcome and then partly as process, whereas the commitment to walkability, views, and the natural environment appears strictly as outcome.

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Since this draft Harbor Vision statement is ultimately about policy direction, decision-making balance and public investment, I do not think concern for process is dancing on the head of a pin.  There is inequitable priority expressed in this draft statement that values the perpetuated, preserved, and provided elements more than the enjoyed elements.  This is easily correctable.

Each bulleted statement should be parallel in sentence structure.  Just add "and sustain" after "enjoy" in the first bullet.  So written, policy direction, decision-making and public investment can later be expressed from a balanced, forward-looking, parallel perspective.  

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