It's things like InVision Tampa that make us proud to live in this flourishing city of ours.

Funded by money from a federal grant, InVision Tampa is a project involving several initiatives and events that will culminate in a master plan for the City Center of Tampa, the area spanning from downtown to Ybor City on the east, Armenia Avenue on the west, and north along historic Nebraska Avenue to Hillsborough Avenue (map to the right).

InVision Tampa will work closely with Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn and a number of city planning experts and scholars.  This group will who will walk, talk, photograph, and listen to the residents of these neighborhoods about the things that matter to them when it comes to the future.

The name of the game is people, place, and progress when it comes to InVision Tampa.  In addition to the previously mentioned, Mayor Buckhorn and these city planners will host neighborhood meetings, charettes, walking tours, online town hall meetings, and one-on-one discussions throughout InVision Tampa's run.

InVision Tampa will start with the Mayor Buckhorn Project Kickoff - 21st Century Cities this Wednesday, April 11 at the Hyatt Regency (211 North Tampa St.) in Downtown Tampa.  Billed as a "knowledge exchange" this kickoff event, as well as others following, aims to "merge national and international trends and real life achievements with practical experiences of the communities in and around downtown Tampa" according to InVision Tampa.

Each knowledge exchange will have a featured topic and speaker as well as  an interactive participant exercise.  Upcoming knowledge exchanges include...

Public Realm – the Livable and Sustainable City on May 16 at the Tampa Convention Center (333 South Franklin Street).

Economic Development – Public and Private Perspectives on May 30 at the Tampa Convention Center (333 South Franklin Street).

Livable Transportation on June 20 at the Tampa Convention Center (333 South Franklin Street).

There will also be a handful of smaller neighborhood charettes (meetings) throughout time time as well.  For a list of all these meetings or more information about InVision Tampa, visit www. invisiontampa.org.

Check out this video from Mayor Bob Buckhorn below to get an idea of what InVision Tampa is all about.