Taking the Long View

Scenic America is proud to make our white paper, Taking the Long View: A Proposal for Realizing America the Beautiful, available as a free PDF download.

About this Strategic White Paper

Taking the Long View was written by the Board of Directors and staff of Scenic America with help from allies and partners in the scenic conservation movement. Updated in 2022, it was originally developed as part of our efforts to recognize the 50th anniversaries of the White House Conference on Natural Beauty and the Highway Beautification Act and honor the legacies of scenic visionaries like President and Lady Bird Johnson and Laurance S. Rockefeller.

We intend for Taking the Long View to serve as a blueprint for the work of Scenic America, our chapters and affiliates, and the broader scenic conservation movement in the coming years. Each of its five overarching issue areas is illuminated by the challenges that we see most pressing and the solutions that we believe need to be implemented to address those challenges. These areas include:

• Placemaking: Preserving and Enhancing Community Character
• Honoring Parks and Open Space
• Celebrating America’s Scenic Byways
• Undergrounding Utility Infrastructure
• Promoting Beautiful Highways

Share Our Vision

Please help multiply the impact of Taking the Long View by sharing the document with community organizations, public officials, and other citizens who care about the visual environment.