Where do we want to go?
Our Plan to Guide High Point for the Next 20 Years
A community’s vision should be far reaching yet realistic. It should reflect community voices and highlight the things that matter most. It should be intentional but flexible. The High Point 2045 planning process was designed to reveal these characteristics and incrementally build the community’s vision.
There are three components that collectively make up the High Point 2045 vision. Core values and associated planning principles form the decision-making framework and priorities framed by three key issues, known as ‘Big Things,’ will be a focus of the plan. The preferred growth scenario will help define a new urban development pattern comprised of mixed-use activity centers and key corridors.
Three components that collectively make up the High Point 2045 vision:
1. Core values and associated planning principles form the decision-making framework.
2. Priorities framed by three key issues, known as "Big Things", are a focus of the Plan.
3. The preferred growth scenario will help define a new urban development pattern comprised of mixed-use activity centers and corridors.
These interconnected components are integral to our vision and associated implementation strategies.
Together these three components not only form the community's vision, but also provide the foundation for Our Growth Framework and Our Way Forward - the final sections of the High Point 2045 Comprehensive Plan.
1. Core Values and Planning Principles
Our core values are deeply-held, widely-shared beliefs that serve as building blocks for our vision. They reflect what we are willing to defend and fight for as well as what we aspire to be. We’re at our best when we act in ways that are consistent with these values.
Our planning principles guide our decisions and help us translate our values into actions. High Point 2045 includes four basic principles to consider as decisions are made to ensure adherence to the community’s core values.
2. Priorities
Three priorities, or Big Things, shall be the focus of the city moving forward. It is important that these identified community issues are prioritized by the city’s decision-makers.
3. Preferred Growth Scenario
How will we grow?
High Point is likely to see 26,000 new residents, which could equate to more than 10,000 new households by 2045. Based on these projections along with High Point’s core values, planning principles, priorities and existing trends, four scenarios were developed to help the High Point community evaluate and choose between alternative growth paths. All four scenarios assumed the same amount of growth. The differences lay in how High Point chooses to grow.
When four possible growth scenarios were presented at public open houses and discussed with the HP2045 steering committee, there was a general preference for Scenario 4, and overwhelming support for Scenarios 3 and 4.
A New Growth Framework Moving Forward
The framework for High Point’s growth moving forward will require a different way of doing things when it comes to development. Rather than greenfield development at the city’s edge, most new development will be directed to mixed-use centers. These centers will include a variety of housing types with other uses within walking distances, such as commercial and office uses. For mixed-use to be successful, it requires an urban form where the public and private realms are better integrated with higher densities and more walkable and bikeable streets. Transit becomes more viable as these centers become denser. At the same time, the greenfields at the city’s edge will be preserved or developed at very low densities. This new growth framework is outlined in Our Growth Framework section of this website. What goes where and what it looks like are determined by the regulations the community opts to put in place.
