Rochester Vision 2050 (RV2050)

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Kim Norton
Mayor | Rochester, MN

Rochester Vision 2050 (RV2050)

Idea Category: 2025 Ideas Challenge, Technology & Government / Democracy & Civic Engagement

2025 Ideas Challenge Entry

Rochester Vision 2050 (RV2050) seeks to explore what residents believe is needed to create the best possible version of their city by the year 2050—far enough away to be bold and aspirational, but close enough to feel achievable.

Residents were invited to share their ideas through email, phone, in-person conversations, and an online platform powered by GroupSolver’s AI-enabled crowdsourcing tool. This allowed the city to collect both qualitative insights and quantitative trends from thousands of inputs, identifying key priorities for the future.

The initiative revealed seven central themes essential for a thriving community: quality education, economic viability (including poverty reduction), safety and security (police and fire), equitable healthcare access, strong infrastructure (transportation, power, utilities, public spaces), affordable housing, and sustainability. These themes are now shared regularly with city council, department heads, local organizations, and community partners to inform policy and budget decisions.

The use of AI allowed residents to build on each other’s ideas in real time, identify common priorities, and surface new concepts that might have been missed through traditional engagement methods.

Impact or how it will be measured:

The goals were multifold – one would be for the community to be empowered, heard, and feel responded to lots of good feedback. The project’s success is measured by community participation, the clarity of shared priorities, and the integration of findings into decision-making. Monthly city council meetings highlight one priority theme, and detailed data is shared with departments, nonprofits, and the business community. Housing, education, and economic vitality emerged as the top priorities, and the city continues to analyze resident feedback to refine policies.