Washington, DC – The Greater Washington 2050 Coalition, a group of elected officials, business and civic leaders from around the region, decided at its inaugural meeting to reach out to younger residents on the issues of  growth and the quality of life in the National Capital Region.  The group will engage those residents and seek to assess what their needs will be over the coming decades.

Coalition members expect to use new technologies to communicate with and determine the concerns young adults will face. Another task will be to develop measurable indicators of the National Capital Region’s progress on economic, environmental, transportation and land-use goals.

The Coalition was developed to address such key regional challenges as a response to issues that emerged from a Futures Forum held by the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (COG) last May.  The Coalition’s main goal is to adopt an action-oriented agenda related to problems like social and economic inequities and reducing emissions harmful to the environment.

The group wants its work to shape how well the region functions over the next half century.

“The Greater Washington 2050 Coalition has in incredible opportunity to unleash the potential of the metropolitan Washington region, which has an impact on economic growth nationally and globally, by leveraging efforts at the local and regional level,” said Amy Liu , deputy director of the Metropolitan Policy Program at the Brookings Institution.

Coalition Chair Sharon Bulova, vice chair of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, told her colleagues that the group’s success will depend on determining and acting on mutual goals to help the region provide affordable housing, economic opportunity and a sustainable environment.

The group will continue its work at monthly meetings at COG.