UPP 557 | BERWYN
RIDGELAND: CONNECT
UPP 557 | BERWYN
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Anthony B e
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Community Engagement Strategy
Exploring Ridgeland Avenue Introduction Our team decided on Ridgeland Avenue through a deductive analysis of Berwyn that began with an assessment of the city’s existing conditions. Through our community engagment and our own determinations, we researched three additional corridors, but selected Ridgeland for its north-south orientation, its mixed-uses including Latinx-owned businesses, and a sense of it as an emergent connector. From here, we narrowed down our research to qualitatively study the Avenue.
Suburbs across the United States are growing increasingly diverse, bringing major demographic and socio-economics changes; the city of Berwyn is an exemplary model of this trending paradigm. To ensure a good quality of life for all Berwyn residents, the city planning process must prioritize the publics’ participation through all phases of plan development. A strong engagement and participatory strategy will provide a space to reach across cultural differences while encouraging inclusive opportunities to build on the values and assets of all Berwyn residents.44
Preliminary Community Engagement
Our team developed an initial engagement strategy to inform next steps in our project goals. Our first step was to identify community groups and stakeholders that have significant insights into Berwyn’s values and assets from which to inform our team’s project goals and development concepts. After thoroughly brainstorming and reviewing lists of potential consultants we chose to meet with four community stakeholders: Alicia Ruiz, Berwyn’s 6th ward alderperson, resident, and fellow MUPP. Brett Michaelson, the Director of Economic Development and Planning Services for the Berwyn Development Corporation (BDC), Anthony Belcaster,
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a community banker and member of the BDC Board, and Dominic Belcaster, CUPPA’s own Graduate Advisor but who grew up and spent many formative years in Berwyn. We chose these four individuals as we felt they were representatives of the greater community. Michaelson works with the business community and the city and is directly keyed into economic development and planning strategies. In addition to being a Latinx resident and an urban planner, as an elected official Ruiz provided critical insight on what is important to her constituents. Finally, Anthony was chosen for his knowledge as a life-long Berwyn resident and involvement in community development. To build on our engagement process we developed a list of key questions to lead with during these meeting sessions. While communicating our intended purpose, we aimed to foster collaborative discussions and acquire crucial feedback that was taken into consideration to build on our team’s objectives and implementation plans. Additionally, our team made four site visits where we conducted a walking and windshield survey, and attended two community round tables hosted by the BDC.
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