A Future of Northwest Indiana Summit will take place Dec. 4 to learn what region residents want when it come to economic development, transportation, land use and the environment, it was announced Tuesday.

The Northwest Indiana Regional Planning Commission is undertaking the project as the region deals with such controversies as the proposed Illiana Expressway, South Shore extension and an intermodal rail development in La Porte County.

"We want to identify a vision for our future," said Steve Strains, NIRPC director of planning.

The summit will be preceded by countywide meetings for the public in Lake County, Porter County and La Porte County.

The summit will take place at the Radisson Hotel in Merrillville and is expected to attract 600 to 750 people. It will utilize instant keypad polling, much like a transportation summit hosted by NIRPC and The Times in recent years at the same location.

Since that summit, such projects as the Gary/Chicago Airport expansion, the Regional Bus Authority and the Marquette Greenway lakeshore development have received millions of dollars in state and local funding.

The Dec. 4 summit is intended to be more comprehensive than the one previously, according to NIRPC Executive Director John Swanson. It will seek to develop a regional consensus on economic development, environmental issues, land use, social justice and transportation, Swanson said.

On Tuesday, the NIRPC Transportation Policy Committee approved funding the summit as part of a two-year, $5.66 million work plan. Federal and state funds will pay for $4.88 million of the plan with local funds making up the remaining $785,900.

The plan must be approved by the NIRPC executive committee later this month.

The plan budgets $123,177 for the summit.

The two-year plan also provides $220,732 for developing the first-ever comprehensive regional plan for the three-county area. The comprehensive regional plan will go beyond previous NIRPC transportation plans and deal with a wide range of issues, including land use, Swanson said.

The two-year plan also budgets $200,000 for development of an economic development strategy. NIRPC will work with the Northwest Indiana Forum and other groups to develop that strategy.

NIRPC also will set up an Illiana task force to study the impact the proposed Illiana Expressway would have on communities and existing roads and transportation.