“How could the quality of life in the Roanoke Valley be improved? That’s what the Partnership for a Livable Roanoke Valley is trying figure out.  It’s an important, and unwieldy, question, and the partnership isn’t the first to try to answer it. But they believe their approach sets them apart. The group’s mission to better the Roanoke metro area begins with finding out what’s most important to people. That started with a late summer telephone survey of 1,000 people intended to reach a complete cross section of the community and will continue this week with a series of public meetings Tuesday and Wednesday. The partnership then plans to look at what the Roanoke Valley could be like in the future and create strategies to make it better based on what people say is most important. The partnership — made up of more than 50 local governments, nonprofits, businesses and educational institutions — also intends to create goals to measure success.”  Roanoke Times