Envision Lehigh Valley will host a one-of-a-kind virtual public 8 to 9 p.m. May 13 to garner feedback from residents of the Lehigh Valley about what they want to see in the Lehigh Valley in the next five, 10 or 20 years. The unique virtual meeting will allow anyone to jump into the broadcast through a specific link and chat live with a panel of city planners from Easton, Bethlehem and Allentown as well as a regional planner from the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission. Viewers can tweet, write Facebook comments, email or join a live chat to share their thoughts on topics from economic development to housing, and also ask questions of the panelists.

The town hall will run for approximately one hour and will be entirely free. The goal of this meeting is to allow residents of the area who were unable to attend the fall public meetings held throughout the region to still share their thoughts. With a busy schedule, Envision Lehigh Valley realized it was hard for many people to leave the home for a few hours on a weeknight, but now the virtual meeting can be streamed right into a laptop, desktop, or tablet.

The virtual meeting link to the Envision Lehigh Valley, hosted on a free uStream channel, will be shared on Envision Lehigh Valley's Facebook page and Twitter feed, or through this URL: http://www.ustream. tv/channel/envision-the-lehigh-valley posted on the website www.envisionlehighvalley.com. Questions and comments can be shared ahead of time by sending an e-mail to Renew Lehigh Valley, who will be coordinating the virtual meeting. Emails to smartgrowth@renewlv.org with "Virtual Meeting" in the subject line will be gathered beforehand and integrated into the meeting in May. Feedback can also be given on Envision Lehigh Valley's website through the orange UserVoice box or the Survey function. The virtual meeting is made possible by the expert support and technology of 1824 Productions, a local company that produces outdoor movies across the Northeast and provides A/V support services, and event streaming (www.1824productions.com). Envision Lehigh Valley is a public outreach effort seeking to create a regional sustainability plan for the Lehigh Valley through community input and planning. It is a three year, $3.4 million Sustainable Communities grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development awarded in November 2011. The project began in early 2012 and will conclude at year end 2014. The Lehigh Valley Sustainability Consortium is comprised of 14 partners from all sectors across the Lehigh Valley.