Like the people who live in them, cities are ever-changing. The interests and needs of yesterday’s residents aren’t the same as today’s or tomorrow’s. So we are constantly working to build on the foundations of the past to meet the needs of the future on a finite budget.

We ask forward-looking questions like:

• How can we adapt our parks to the new ways residents’ play?
• What can we do to better prepare for the next crisis or disaster?
• How can we improve our streets and sidewalks to keep all users safe and traffic flowing?
• What can we do to better weather the effects of a changing climate?
• How can we respond to our residents’ changing housing and shelter needs?
• How can we maintain our community’s livability while preparing for its growth?

This section of the website focuses on plans for Salem’s future across the spectrum of our city’s needs and expectations. This work doesn’t take place in a vacuum. As we plan for the future of all our services, we invite you, our residents, to share your opinions and insights at every turn. 

We also ask you to explore some of the initiatives in this section of the website to discover what we're thinking about and where Salem is headed.