Where Are We Now?

How will we know if the Charlottesville-Albemarle area has been successful in creating a more livable community in five, ten or even twenty years from now? In order to measure our progress, it’s important to have a snapshot of where we stand today. For this reason, the Livability project has designed a Performance Measurement System to evaluate where we stand in key areas of our community. This system will be shared with the public in its current, preliminary form this Thursday (details below).

The Performance Measurement System contains indicators which fall into six categories:

• Natural Resources
• Housing & the Built Environment
• Communities & Neighborhoods
• Transportation
• Economy
• Infrastructure

For each of these categories, 10-15 indicators were chosen to measure current outcomes in that category. Each of the systems and indicators are based on goals and values as expressed in the City of Charlottesville and Albemarle County Comprehensive Plans. These documents have been approved by each locality’s elected officials and summarize the county or city’s vision for their future.

For example, one of the indicators measured in the Natural Resources system is the portion of our rivers that are currently considered impaired (for having bacteria or pollutant levels above standards). The comprehensive plans of both Charlottesville and Albemarle place importance on clean waterways, for ecological benefits as well as the protection of our drinking water supply. This indicator gives us a snapshot of the health of our waterways today, and can be compared to future evaluations of our streams to let us know if we have made progress in reducing pollution levels.

We hope you will join us at the Open House this Thursday to review each of the chosen indicators in detail and provide feedback. If you can’t make it, check the website on Friday for digital versions of the information that will be shared and leave your comments on the site.

Performance Measurement System Open House
Thursday, June 23
4:00-7:00pm
Saunders Hall
UVA Darden School of Business (North Grounds Campus)
100 Darden Blvd. Charlottesville, VA 22903

Full details and directions can be found under the Meetings & Events tab on this site.