What Defines Success of a Vision?

Abstract

Visions can serve as important tools for guiding and uniting land use interests in regions with fragmented administration. This paper examines the factors that determine the strength and effectiveness of visions by testing and summarising hypotheses on their success. The case study focuses on New Orleans, a city undergoing an intensive rebuilding process, chosen as a pressing example of vision development. Interviews with local policymakers, designers, researchers, and journalists revealed which factors they viewed as most crucial for a vision’s success. These spontaneous answers largely confirmed hypotheses from the visioning literature but also highlighted additional key elements absent from it: the need for propagation by a powerful authority, a favourable political climate, and sufficient funding for implementation. The findings indicate that for a vision to truly influence outcomes, it must not only be substantively persuasive but also embedded in a supportive institutional context.