Visioning and Place Making

Every built environment has a unique story to tell; a history and a reason for its existence. Places that have accrued in value (socially, environmentally and economically) over time serve as exemplary precedents and reminders of what we can achieve. These places were created by having a vision, a stated purpose and ideal, before pencil was even placed to paper or brick to mortar.

Urban Community Partners believes that having a clear and well thought out vision is critical to a project’s strategy for success and long term sustainability. We are often engaged at the earliest outset of a project to help define the vision. Working closely with an existing community, key stakeholders, land owners, jurisdictions, property or building owners and the consulting team we help to create a strong identity and vision for the project.

Urban Community Partners strives to develop a project’s vision around a consensus: a set of defined goals and expectations. We believe that all ideas are good and should be considered before coming to a final vision statement and agreement. We first listen to the needs and ideas of the locals: Who better to tell us about a place than those who live, work and play there? We encourage the use of community workshops, interviews with key stakeholders and design charrettes to fully engage and tap into local knowledge. This not only helps to establish a consensus but also gets at the heart of how they envision their communities in the future.

Urban Community Partners analyzes economic, environmental, political, market, psychographic, site opportunities and constraints, infrastructure, living and social patterns, circulation, biological, weather patterns, and other key indicators to further establish a foundation of information on which to help build the vision and future plans.

Urban Community Partners always ask these three questions:

1. Who will the end users be and how will they thrive in the places we help create?
2. How will the people and the environment benefit in the long run?
3. What will the legacy of this project be?

Specific “Visioning and Placemaking” services that Urban Community Partners provides includes:

• Community Outreach: Listening, Understanding and Communicating
• Visioning Workshops and Design Charrette Facilitation
• Consensus Building
• Community and Product Design Assistance
• Brand Development
• Strategy for Implementation