In response to the April 27th tornado, thousands of committed citizens engaged in an unprecedented public dialogue about the future of Tuscaloosa and the tornado-impacted areas, culminating in the development of a compelling community vision to guide the rebuilding process and shape the long-term success of the community:

“To courageously create a showpiece of quality of life through vital and unique neighborhoods that are healthy, safe, accessible, connected, and sustainable.”

Through the Tuscaloosa Forward Strategic Community Plan, several “Big Ideas” emerged to achieve this vision, along with a range of initiatives to translate those big ideas into specific projects, policies, and partnerships to implement the plan.

The Generational Infrastructure Plan represents the next critical step in the rebuilding process. In this document, many of the initiatives identified in the Tuscaloosa Forward plan are further developed and connected to physical projects that can be implemented in specific locations. The collection of approximately 60 separate infrastructure projects included in this document support the recommendations of the Tuscaloosa Forward plan with detailed analysis, design, preliminary engineering, cost estimates and other necessary information to guide the development of new infrastructure. Projects include street improvements, utility upgrades, park design, coordination of public facilities, pilot housing development, and the creation of a Citywalk greenway trail that connects neighborhoods along the tornado path.

The projects found in this plan were selected and developed because the community, the City of Tuscaloosa, and the design team recognized the greatest potential for these projects to have a transformative impact in the recovery area by demonstrating public commitment, improving perceptions, catalyzing new private investment, and enhancing quality-of-life.