Review and Comment on the Draft Imagine Kalamazoo 2035 Vision!

Published on September 15, 2026

The City of Kalamazoo invites community members to review and comment on the draft Imagine Kalamazoo 2035 Strategic Vision, a community-developed framework that will guide City priorities, services, and investments over the next decade.

Review the Draft Strategic Vision(PDF, 24MB)

Share Your Comments

The draft is available at www.kalamazoocity.org/imaginekalamazoo, where comments can be submitted through Wednesday, September 30, 2026. Paper copies are available at City Hall, the City’s Stockbridge offices (415 E Stockbridge Ave), and Crosstown Center (150 E Crosstown Pkwy). Visitors can scan a QR code on the draft to comment online or provide written comments to staff.

Community members are encouraged to review and consider whether the draft reflects their hopes for Kalamazoo and what may be missing or unclear. Feedback will help shape a final draft before it is presented to the City Commission.

“Thank you to everyone who shared an idea, joined a conversation, or helped imagine what Kalamazoo can become,” said Christina Anderson, City Planner and Interim Director of the City’s Community Planning & Economic Development Department. “Your input is the foundation of this vision. It’s exciting to see those ideas come together, and we invite everyone to review the draft and help shape our next decade.”

The draft envisions neighborhoods supported by sustainable, responsive, and accessible services that bring people together at every stage of life. Its eight goals address housing; transportation; economic vitality; the environment; youth and family; community trust and safety; arts, culture, and placemaking; and effective City operations.

Five guiding principles apply across those goals: continuous engagement; diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility; economic mobility; operational excellence; and sustainability. This approach reflects community feedback that these priorities should guide all City work.

Following staff preparation in early 2024, community visioning began that fall. The process recorded more than 5,000 contributions, including 1,476 completed surveys, with some people participating in multiple ways. Neighborhood meetings, focus groups, open houses, Meeting on the Go activities, and pop-up events offered opportunities to contribute in schools, community centers, churches, and other familiar spaces. Community partners helped shape and host activities, while Western Michigan University’s Evaluation Lab supported engagement and feedback analysis.

A community-wide read of Happy City by Charles Montgomery explored how places, transportation, and everyday connections affect well-being. Discussions welcomed everyone, whether they had read the book or simply wanted to participate. Montgomery visited for events hosted by the City and Southwest Michigan First. Youth also contributed artwork through schools, after-school programs, and Kalamazoo Public Library branches, with their visions displayed downtown at the library and online.

Through the “Imagine It,” “Plan It,” and “Design It” phases, participants moved from broad aspirations to refined goals and neighborhood-level discussions about achieving them.

The effort builds on Imagine Kalamazoo 2025, which connected community priorities to City budgets, plans, and investments. Implementation highlights include 1,676 multifamily and rental housing units built or preserved, more than 24 miles of new or repaired sidewalk, 5,000 lead water service lines replaced, more than 1,800 trees planted, and $3.7 million invested to help small businesses start or grow. Many of these efforts received support from the Foundation for Excellence.

The Strategic Vision establishes the community’s shared priorities and desired outcomes, guiding decisions about City services, policies, budgets, and partnerships. The Master Plan builds on that direction by guiding how Kalamazoo grows and develops, with strategies for land use, housing, transportation, neighborhoods, and public spaces. Plans for parks, capital improvements, and other areas will also advance the vision, while annual budgets determine funding. Together, these documents connect community priorities to implementation and measures of progress.

The draft Strategic Vision will be presented to the Planning Commission on Thursday, October 1, 2026. Following review of public feedback and preparation of a final draft, the City Commission is expected to review and consider it for approval on Monday, October 19, 2026.

After approval of the Strategic Vision, work will continue to finalize the Master Plan, which is expected to be presented for adoption in the first quarter of 2027.