A Future Worth Planning For

Lake-County-Team-2015

Often times, it is easy as planners to become pessimistic. Sometimes it is easier to see the hurdles than it is to see what lies after them. The obstacles that stand in the way of a brighter future can be overwhelming.  When we initially started working on this Parks and Recreation Master Plan for Lake County (Community Planning Workshop Project), we encountered those obvious obstacles, but we also encountered roadblocks we were not necessarily expecting.

The obvious ones included community push back in terms of funding sources. People were very hesitant at community workshops to increase taxes. People were also skeptical about how the County could achieve the lofty goals set out in a Parks and Recreation Plan. Many people in Lake County also felt jaded by the government agencies and the lack of perceived coordination amongst the agencies.

We also encountered roadblocks that we did not expect. As none of us had worked on a Parks and Recreation Master Plan before, we faced internal challenges as to what type of deliverables we should give to the County. We faced a lot of uncertainty and constantly had new sets of questions and challenges.

However, this all proved to be a rewarding experience. From this project we learned how to harness those push backs and understand key issues in order to create a plan of goals that are realistic for the County. We hope our strategic plan, with its vision, goal areas, action ideas, and implementation ideas, provides a road map for how the County can develop in the future.

It can be easy to only see the overwhelming social, environmental, and economic problems facing communities when engaged in a planning project. With the odds stacked against us, it is easy to look bleakly at the future. However, it is also important to remember the good our plans can create and the reason why we plan is because we see a future worth planning for.

 

About the Authors: 

Rory Isbell CPW Community Planning Workshop Lake County Parks and Recreation Master PlanRory Isbell Rory Isbell is from Flagstaff, Arizona and is in his second  year at the University of Oregon pursuing degrees in law and community and regional planning.

 

 

 

Allie Breyer Community Planning Workshop CPW Lake County Parks and Recreation Master PlanAllie Breyer is a second year Master of Public Administration student with a focus in environmental policy and planning. She hails from the great state of Minnesota and moved to Oregon seeking education, experience, and adventure.

Rubber Meets the Road: Taking the Pulse of the Community

Eugene-Micro-VillageRecently, our Community Planning Workshop Team finished collecting upwards of 90 surveys as part of our project to evaluate Eugene’s rest stop policy and micro village programs. Over the span of two weeks, our group administered door-to-door surveys in the areas nearest the rest stops and micro village.

We decided that we would survey addresses, both businesses and residents, within a 500-foot radius of each rest stop and the micro village. The rationale for surveying local business and residents within a 500-foot radius is to capture the perceptions and perspectives most affected by these camps. Capturing these perspectives is important to the program evaluation process because these nearby business owners and residents were expected to be most impacted by the sites.

In addition to splitting ourselves into two groups, with each group consisting of two student members and a representative from the Eugene’s Humans Rights Commission, we split the addresses in two as well. In the instance that a business was closed or a representative wasn’t available to participate in the survey, we left a postcard that included a description of our project and survey, as well as the web address to the survey on-line. Postcards were also left at residences where no one was readily available to take the survey.

As a group, we dialogued about our experience facilitating surveys in the community.  We all agreed that hitting the pavement and walking door-to door for several hours administering survey questions was a humbling experience because we were able to connect with community members in hopes to contribute positive change in their community. It was this process that demonstrated not only the value in accounting for community opinion and perspective, but this process also demonstrated the effort it takes to truly engage the community in a meaningful way.

Eugene-Micro-Village-2While there were individuals that expressed discontent, there were many more that were emphatic in their support for initiatives that provide safe, secure places for the unhoused to sleep. Generally, neighbors agreed with the facilitation of services like the rest-stops and micro villages, but feel as though the City could be doing more to accommodate Eugene’s unhoused population.

The process was taxing at times, but overall proved to be a rewarding and meaningful experience. Being able to share in the gathering and communication of neighbor feedback to decision makers is right at the intersection of community engagement and impact that pushed us to join this team.

About the Authors:

Jaleel Reed Evaluating Rest Stops and Micro-Villages EugeneJaleel Reed is a dual-Master’s student in Environmental Studies as well as Community and Regional Planning. An environmental scientist by degree from Northwestern University, he has re-oriented his interest toward environmental justice and community development. Outside of class, Jaleel doubles as a food and fitness enthusiast.

 

Brody Abbott CPW Community Planning Workshop Eugene Microvillage EvaluationBrody Abbott received his Bachelors of Degree in Criminal Justice from Southern Oregon University in 2013. During his free time he enjoys playing with his dog, Rufus, playing basketball, and enjoying the great outdoors. Originally from Portland, Oregon, Brody is close to his friends and family.