Client: Hennepin County, City of Minneapolis, and Metro Transit; with Hoisington Koegler Group
Project: Served as the community engagement lead to design and launch community-driven efforts to make positive changes for those who live, work, play, or worship along this 5-mile section of Penn Avenue North in Minneapolis. The focus is the corridor and two blocks on either side from Interstate 394 to 49th Avenue North, along with key nodes and connections to important destinations. Key priorities included:
- Re-envisioning Penn Avenue as a complete street
- Economic opportunity and stimulating private investment
- Enhancing livability
The project used a respectful and highly collaborative community engagement approach to work through multiple stages of input and feedback.
Following a detailed stakeholder analysis and engagement design, gathered input on critical questions from stakeholders including community youth and families, park users, employees of major local employers, business groups, business owners, nonprofits. Hired teams of local young adults to doorknock the entire corridor and conduct intercept surveys at busy neighborhood locations like grocery stores; other engagement activities included a van tour, small group sessions, and online tools.
Results were compiled, analyzed, and used to drive specific planning decisions.
