Approximately 2,500 residents and those working in the Wabash Heartland Region (Benton, Carroll, Cass, Clinton, Fountain, Montgomery, Pulaski, Tippecanoe, Warren and White Counties) have completed the Wabash Heartland Innovation Network (WHIN)’s regional placemaking survey to help determine top prioritiesin their respective counties.
The survey contains 27 questions divided into three sections: vitality, education and connectivity. Results from the survey will be one factor in helping to determine how the $10 million Regional Cultivation Fund, which WHIN received from a Lilly Endowment Inc. grant in late 2017, will be spent to improve quality of place and quality of life in the Wabash Heartland region.
Seventy-two percent of respondents who live in these 10 counties say they identify as residents of the Wabash Heartland Region. Among a list of community assets, respondents ranked parks and trails as the region’s most important vitality resource. For education, 53% of respondents chose workforce and education alignment their No. 1 priority. In terms of connectivity, 52% of respondents picked high-speed Internet access as the top way they would like to see the region improve. Read the complete regional report for additional insights from respondents regarding how they view the Wabash Heartland region — and suggestions for what WHIN might do to leverage resources to help the region “leap ahead” with innovative Internet-enabled technologies.