In 2015, Mecklenburg County will be a community of pride and choice for people to LIVE, WORK and RECREATE.

People who LIVE in Mecklenburg County will be residing in the center of a regional metropolitan area comprising 14 counties in North and South Carolina. Mecklenburg County will be the place of choice in the region for people to live because we will have affordable housing opportunities throughout the county for residents from all economic backgrounds. We will have respect for and will celebrate the diversity of and promote equality of opportunity for all of our citizens. We will be honoring, teaching and communicating our rich heritage and preserving our historical landmarks and places. We will be providing alternatives to incarceration for those suffering from the disease of alcoholism and substance abuse. We will have safe neighborhoods with comparable crime rates from one neighborhood to another. We will be protecting our natural resources. We will have an abundant source of clean drinking water, clean and healthy creeks that are suitable for prolonged human contact, and air quality within acceptable standards no worse than in 2001. We will have eliminated "preventable" child deaths and injuries and have no disparities in resident health based on ethnic background. We will have the lowest per capita incidence of substance abuse in the nation, and have lower than the national average per capita cases of cancer, HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases, heart disease, teenage pregnancy and infant mortality, among many health indicators. Our senior citizens will have the choice to age with dignity in their homes.

People who WORK in Mecklenburg County will have job growth opportunities in a variety of business sectors that provide all who are willing to work with a living wage, and the workforce will be trained to meet the needs of employers. All residents will have the opportunity to share equitably in the community's prosperity.

We will be a model learning community, leading the state of North Carolina and surpassing the national average for student achievement, regardless of pupil socio-economic standing. Our adult literacy rate will be in excess of 90%. We will have a regional mass transit that connects citizens to their homes, work, schools, park facilities and commercial centers. Through the use of coordinated joint land use planning, we will have schools, libraries, park facilities, transit and affordable housing developed in collaboration with the City of Charlotte, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools and the other municipalities in the County.

People who RECREATE in Mecklenburg will have a system of parks, greenways and open space located throughout the County that will provide more park land per capita than the national average, will connect neighborhoods, satisfies public recreation needs, and will protect environmentally sensitive areas. Residents and visitors will learn from and be inspired by our community's arts and cultural activity. We will have a local government that is highly efficient, effective, accountable, and inclusive. Partnerships between government, the private sector and the faith community will be bringing together people from diverse backgrounds to address and solve community problems.