Lincoln Forward

Fact over fear.

Lincoln’s growth has stirred a lot of strong feelings — and not nearly enough shared facts. So I spent more than eight months gathering them. Lincoln Forward pulls the city’s own records, peer-reviewed research, and the experiences of comparable Alabama towns into one place, so we can talk about our future from the same set of numbers.

I grew up the daughter of a builder and have spent thirty-three years drawing homes across this region. That work gave me a front-row seat to what actually makes a neighborhood thrive — and what quietly drives families away. When the growth debate reached our Council and Planning & Zoning Commission, I wanted real answers, not instinct. So I went looking for the data, documented every source, and laid it out plainly enough that anyone can check my work.

This isn’t a sales pitch, and it isn’t a verdict. Communities all over the country have already walked the road Lincoln is on — some got it right, some made costly mistakes. The research exists. We don’t need to repeat anyone’s mistakes, and we don’t need to decide out of fear. We just need to look, together.

Jennie Leigh Massey Jones
Author · Lincoln City Council, Ward 3