Neighborhood Engagement Process & Milestones

The Midtown Garden District planning process utilized a wide range of neighborhood outreach and input tools in order to gather insight from hundreds of neighborhood residents over a roughly 10-month period. Described briefly as follows are the key planning groups, events and milestones that occurred throughout the process.

STEERING COMMITTEE

The steering committee for the plan consisted of a small group of neighborhood and city leaders including MNA officers and Council staff. The Lord Aeck Sargent consultant team met with the steering committee on a bi-monthly basis to discuss project management, schedule, and plan progress.

FOCUS GROUPS

Early in the process, four (4) different focus groups were formed, as follows:

Development & Preservation

Circulation & Infrastructure

Healthy Living & Safety

Greenspace

The focus groups were a way for stakeholders to strategize key issues and oppor­tunities facing the neighborhood. MNA and Council staff encouraged neighbors to sign-up for one or more focus groups (advertised at public workshops, on social media, email blasts, MNA website) in order to hone in on specific themes. Eight (8) focus group meetings were held during Phases 1 and 2 of the process.

PUBLIC WORKSHOPS

Three interactive Public Workshops were held throughout the planning process:

Public Kickoff Workshop (February 10, 2016) - With over 100 participants in attendance, this first public event was held at the Grady High School cafeteria. The meeting included a short project overview/introduction by city leaders and the planning consultant team. The bulk of the workshop included a series of interactive planning stations allowing participants to identify where in the neighborhood they lived, note major issues on neighborhood maps and document comments/suggestions. Lord Aeck Sargent staff were on-hand at each station to answer questions and help forward the discussion.

Second Public Workshop (August 10, 2016) - Held again at the Grady High School cafe­teria, this second public event was organized as an open house, including nine planning stations. Each station centered around specific project ideas and framework diagrams that grew out of focus group discussions. Project concepts included corridor /streetscape improvements, ped/bike infrastructure/types/routes and greenspace character examples. Larger-scaled framework diagrams related to future land use, susceptibility to change, potential transportation improvements and potential open space expansion were also displayed for feedback. The series of supporting existing conditions maps and data were also presented to participants through the stations. The workshop was facilitated by consultant staff with roughly 80 participants in attendance.

Final Public Workshop (November 10, 2016) - The final public event was held in the Grady High School Auditorium focused on highlights of the draft masterplan. The bulk of the event included a presentation/discussion by Lord Aeck Sargent staff and MNA outlining land use strategies, potential capital projects and possible neighborhood initiatives. A portion of the workshop included planning stations allowing participants to further weigh-in on plan elements, concepts, illustrations and strategies presented. Over 50 people attended this final workshop.

ONLINE SURVEY

An interactive online survey was launched midway through the planning process as both a way to reach a broader audience and gather more detailed feedback from stakeholders. The survey included 25 carefully-crafted questions relating to specific neighborhood issues heard during Phase 1. Question formats included both multiple choice and character image rankings. Respondents were also asked questions about themselves such as their tenure in the neighborhood, their age, housing type, household and which area within the neighborhood they lived. In some cases, this allowed the planning team to analyze particular question responses based on neighborhood “area” in order to find out whether some perceived issues were neighborhood-wide or more location/ street-specific.

The online survey, which was taken by almost 400 people, was available online for about 2 months and advertised through a wide range of social media platforms and websites.