OUR FINAL RECOMMENDATIONS

FOUR PRIORITIES + IDEAS FOR ACTION

At such a critical time in our city’s history, Imagine Nashville will serve as the guiding framework by which we can create a Nashville of the future that is truly built around equitable prosperity.

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  • Leverage the city’s higher education/research & development, health care, technology, and other growing industries to fuel our innovation economy and position Nashville as the “innovation hub” of the South.
  • Invest in expanding Nashville’s small business footprint and take companion steps to protect local small businesses from displacement.

    Examples include:

  • Building from the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce’s 2020 Workforce Study, create an annual scorecard that measures:
    • The number and percent of jobs in high-growth industries
    • The number and percent of good and promising jobs by industry
    • Labor force participation
  • Support and scale economic mobility initiatives that are successfully moving families out of poverty by removing systemic barriers to high-wage employment.
  • Guarantee all students have equitable access to high-wage, high-demand career pathways and career-based learning opportunities by removing barriers, including:
    • Geographic: an array of AP, IB/Cambridge, dual enrollment and Early College options available to all students in every high school; high-growth industry Career Academies in every high school; safe, affordable public transit options (see transit section) for students to participate in internships, Early College, etc.
    • Financial: provide equitable financial assistance for all low-income students seeking to earn college credit while in high school (including dual enrollment, AP/IB/Cambridge exam fees, etc.) and make widely available paid internships and apprenticeships.
    • Awareness: Centralize all available college and career readiness options, including internships, into one broadly communicated website. Ensure all students and families know the full array of options (e.g. Career Academies, AP classes, dual enrollment) available at each school prior to entering high school.
  • Ensure unemployed and underemployed adults have knowledge of and easy access to education and workforce training that leads to high-wage, high-demand jobs.

    This should include:

    • Scale Earn and Learn apprenticeship and training programs.
    • Increase wrap-around supports such as childcare and transportation (e.g. Nashville Reconnect) and debt-free financial aid (e.g. Nashville GRAD, Nashville FLEX) for working and or caregiving adult students to ensure they are able to complete education and skills training.
    • Centralize all available resources into one easily accessed, broadly promoted website.
    • Develop a communications strategy that promotes available resources (education, training, job placement, apprenticeship, etc.) for adults and encourages completion of a high-demand degree or credential.
  • Identify and resource a workforce development intermediary charged with creating a robust talent pipeline for Davidson County by:
    • Aligning and coordinating K-12, higher education, government, and the business sector.
    • Accessing and leveraging federal funds.
    • Projecting employer needs and establishing K-12 and postsecondary strategies to meet demand.
  • Increase the number of affordable high-quality childcare slots in high-demand neighborhoods.

    Examples include:

    • Work with developers receiving Metro incentives to establish/expand childcare slots near new developments.
    • Explore cost-share (i.e. family, employer, government) agreements to offset the cost of childcare for low-income employees.
    • Create strategies for improving the pay scale of childcare teachers and direct care workers to attract and retain employees, meet childcare and eldercare demand, and improve quality.
  • Build high-capacity transit corridors that prioritize transit today and prepare Nashville for the future.

    This should include:

    • A robust frequent bus network, including crosstown routes, that operates 24 hours/day, 7 days/week.
    • Exploring public-private partnership to fund light rail, beginning with lines between the airport and downtown or other high-traffic locations.
    • Installing multi-modal, mixed-use transit centers that facilitate access to services, retail, and other community resources.
  • Ensure public transit is accessible to all Nashvillians.

    This should include:

    • A free and reduced fare program for older adults, youth, and low-income Nashvillians.
    • “Youth Ways” networks (safe, accessible, active transportation networks that efficiently enable youth to attend preferred schools, Career Academies, internships, and other career-based learning opportunities, postsecondary options, and after-school activities).
    • Expand and enhance paratransit along with a safe, last mile sidewalk and infrastructure program to better serve older adults and people with disabilities.
  • Increase safety for those using public and active transportation.

    Examples include:

    • Enhance and promote safety measures on public transportation, stops, and transit centers.
    • Implement a robust quick-build program that rapidly implements projects at dangerous crossings and roadways.
    • Identify and prioritize funding for short-term on-street connections to better connect the existing 100 miles of greenways.
  • Promote and incentivize the use of public transit and active transportation.

    Examples include:

    • Strengthen Transportation Demand Management (TDM) ordinance to shift commuters to more sustainable transportation modes and reduce congestion.
    • Install bike racks in business corridors and neighborhoods.
    • Grow Open Streets programming throughout the city.
    • Work with the business community to increase participation in transit benefit programs such as MoveVU and the WeGo Ride
    • Develop a citywide communications strategy that emphasizes the benefits of public transit, destigmatizes bus ridership, and showcases improved safety and cleanliness.
  • Recommit to implementing Plan to Play, the Metro Nashville Parks and Greenways master plan.
  • Identify under-represented housing types (rental, homeownership, gentle-density housing) and set clear affordable and/or attainable housing targets. Housing options for older adults, individuals/families experiencing homelessness, and people with disabilities should be prioritized.
  • Identify public and private property that can be utilized to increase housing stock.

    Examples include:

    • Partner with institutions (i.e., academic, health, and faith-based) to use land and other resources for affordable housing development.
    • Give WeGo additional authority and budget to purchase, lease, and sell land to maximize and prioritize the purchase, sale, and leasing of affordable housing adjacent to transit.
    • Encourage more public-private partnerships whereby leading businesses, private philanthropy, and community partners pledge funding, land, or incentives to expand the city’s attainable housing inventory. Track progress on this as part of the Metro Department of Housing’s existing State of Housing Dashboard.
  • Recognizing housing is an economic development issue, launch a public education campaign to better engage and inform neighborhood groups and residents on the importance of housing diversity throughout the city and in turn, build a stronger network of champions to advocate for a broad spectrum of household incomes, ages, and needs.
  • Substantially accelerate funding for both public and private housing affordability efforts, including maximizing all sources of revenue/funding.

    Examples include:

    • Leverage recent state legislation that allows Nashville to pledge long-term debt in the form of affordable housing bonds to support housing efforts.
    • Ensure the Barnes Fund has appropriate long-term, dedicated funding to continue encouraging nonprofit affordable housing ventures.
    • Make sure the Catalyst Fund is appropriately resourced to speed efforts to preserve and grow the city’s larger affordable housing inventory.
    • Investigate broader incentives that will encourage more private development of affordable housing.
    • Explore, educate Metro Council and the public, and pass any necessary legislation that could enable additional housing finance options (i.e. special purpose finance products from financial institutions, and/or program-related investments from philanthropic organizations to support developers in building more owner and renter housing options.)
    • Maximize state and federal funding opportunities, such as Transit-Oriented Development grants.
  • Streamline zoning, land use, and permitting process to incentivize and expedite development of attainable housing options.

    Examples include:

    • Expand where Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) can be built, improve online resources (i.e. map of parcels where ADUs are eligible), and facilitate permitting process for individuals seeking to build ADUs on their property.
    • Provide ready-build or permit-ready plans that streamline the approval process and similar innovative efforts being used by other cities around the country to accelerate housing production.
    • Establish expectations for developers via zoning incentives, community benefits agreements (where allowable under law), and Memorandum of Understanding to accelerate progress in closing housing affordability gaps in key neighborhoods.
  • Expand homebuyer and rental assistance as well as home repair/modification and property tax relief programming to support people getting into housing and staying there. In particular, home repair/modification programming at scale could play an important role in supporting the housing needs of aging and low-income Nashvillians.
  • Train neighborhood groups to develop robust neighborhood development plans based on the results of a Quality of Life/Neighborhood Livability Index. Plans should be authored by neighborhood residents and take into account the unique personality and characteristics of each neighborhood. They should address amenity gaps identified while balancing those needs with broader community needs.
  • Identify 4-5 neighborhoods to pilot “complete neighborhood” concepts, such as mixed-use transit centers, co-locating early childhood and adult day programs, and developing neighborhood commercial corridors.
  • Create and promote clean, safe, “third places” (fun places outside of school and home) for youth ages 12-18 that are accessible on evenings and weekends.

    Examples include:

    • Free and accessible soccer fields and basketball courts, especially pools, splash pads, etc.
    • “Up-size playgrounds” for middle and high school students, such as obstacle courses, climbing walls, splash pads.
    • Children’s parks similar to Presidio Tunnel Tops and Tom Lee Park in Memphis.
  • Encourage community-building efforts such as block parties, community gatherings, festivals, etc., by streamlining and simplifying the permitting process.
  • Identify and allocate funding for community and neighborhood groups to ensure more equitable resources are available to every neighborhood.
  • Better equip neighborhood groups with the knowledge and resources they need to interface with Metro departments and private developers.

    Examples include:

    • Provide comprehensive, engaging training for neighborhood groups to effectively engage in neighborhood and city planning.
    • Develop and adopt a neighborhood ambassadors program to enhance education of the zoning, land use, and development processes.
    • Develop leadership and mentorship programs for leaders of neighborhood groups.
  • Increase neighborhood access to additional funding and resources.Examples include:
  • Ensure the development code is aligned with neighborhood visions, appropriately requiring developers to contribute to a high-quality built environment and needed infrastructure and to operate within the bounds of established neighborhood plans.
  • Increase coordination of government services involved in large-scale development and/or capital projects in order to minimize negative impacts on residents.
  • Foster “belonging” of often excluded groups by expanding neighborhood and citywide amenities that strengthen Nashville’s social fabric.

    Examples include:

    • Establishing a community center for LGBTQIA+ that serves as a hub for health and social services and civic opportunities.
    • Further investing in community centers and resources for older adults and youth.
    • Engaging with African American/Black, Hispanic/Latino, and WANA/AAPI affinity groups, business councils, artists and arts organizations, and neighborhood-based groups to identify and address unique needs.
    • Establish ways to ensure city amenities are more accessible to locals; for example, a “locals pass” or special promotions (e.g. free/discount day each week, pay-what-you-can option) that increase accessibility and affordability at area museums and cultural institutions.

[1] Shearer, Chad and Isha Shah, “Opportunity Industries: Exploring the industries that concentrate good and promising jobs in metropolitan America.” Brookings Metropolitan Policy Program, December 2018. https://www.brookings.edu/articles/opportunity-industries/#%3A~%3Atext%3DGood%20jobs%20provide%20stable%20employment%2Cor%20pathways%20to%20good%20jobs

[2] “Nashville’s economy beat expectations in 2023. What will 2024 bring?” Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce, 2024. https://www.nashvillechamber.com/blog/nashvilles-economy-beat-expectations-in-2023-what-will-2024-bring/

[3] U.S. Census Bureau, 2022 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates, Table S1901, Income in the Past 12 Months (in 2022 Inflation-adjusted Dollars). https://data.census.gov/table?q=income%20nashville%20tn

[4] Living Wage Calculation for Nashville-Davidson-Murfreesboro-Franklin, TN, Living Wage Calculator, MIT, February 2024. https://livingwage.mit.edu/metros/34980

[5] 2022-23 Ready Graduate for Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools, Tennessee Department of Education. https://tdepublicschools.ondemand.sas.com/district/00190/performance/ready

[6] Ready Graduate: Preparing Students for Success, Metropolitan Nashville Schools. https://www.mnps.org/learn/academics/college_career_readiness/readygrad

[7] Martinez, Tania Otero, Allie Pearce and Page Shoemaker DeMio, “K-12 Work-Based Learning Opportunities: A 50-State Scan of 2023 Legislative Action,” Center for American Progress, April 2024. https://www.americanprogress.org/article/k-12-work-based-learning-opportunities-a-50-state-scan-of-2023-legislative-action/

[8] Work-based Learning Framework, Jobs for the Future, 2018. https://www.jff.org/idea/work-based-learning-framework/

[9] Johnson, K. High School Internships: A Field Overview. (July, 2020.) American Student Assistance research.

[10] “Spotlight on High School Internships.” American Student Assistance, 2020. https://www.asa.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Spotlight-on-High-School-Internships.pdf

[11] Durani, Anna. “The Hardest Commutes In The U.S., Ranked.” Edited by Samantha Allen. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/home-improvement/moving-services/hardest-commutes-in-us/

[12] ThinkTN, “Nashville’s Next Mayor Should Lead the Way on Transportation and Housing,” 2023. https://www.thinktennessee.org/research/housing/

[13] U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey (ACS) Table S0801 5-year estimate, 2022. https://data.census.gov/table/ACSST1Y2022.S0801?q=commuting%20rate&g=160XX00US4752006

[14] US Census, American Community Survey, 2022. https://dashboards.nashville.gov/t/Metro/views/AH-Dashboard/FinalDashboard_1?%3Aembed=y&%3AisGuestRedirectFromVizportal=y

[15] ThinkTN, “Nashville’s Next Mayor Should Lead the Way on Transportation and Housing,” 2023. https://www.thinktennessee.org/research/housing/