Lessons Learned From Public Outreach

This edition of The Column is the first part in a series exploring the importance of community outreach and engagement in public architecture.

Spaces that are beloved by the community are ultimately the most successful. At VCBO, we define beloved architecture as spaces where beauty meets function — spaces that achieve the needs of the community and reflect the values of the people. When a facility attains this status, it is used more and better maintained, resulting in a more cost-effective, enduring public project. Perhaps more importantly, beloved spaces are also more likely to become deeply woven into the fabric of a community and grow to be a source of pride.

The Salt Lake City Public Library - Urban Room

Just as no two projects are the same, each community is diverse in its needs and values. So unsurprisingly, the only effective way to determine what will constitute a beloved facility is to meet with, listen to, and understand a community. By prioritizing the community outreach process in the project approach — a people-centric approach — architects and community leaders can better connect constituents to their built environment while implementing design solutions that truly solve real-world needs.

Lessons learned from the community engagement experience — 3 key goals for all public outreach efforts

Our design philosophy at VCBO is rooted in the belief that community-driven design produces end results that allow people to thrive. In other words, we have learned through experience that the most impactful, beloved architecture is guided by extensive public collaboration.

In recent years — especially since the COVID-19 pandemic — we are increasingly prioritizing the community outreach process on public projects, guiding our clients through considerable engagement activities to better understand their communities’ needs.

Each project and each community is unique, requiring a diverse toolkit for public engagement activities. For example, we have learned virtual engagement is often easier for working professionals, families, and younger generations, while in-person collaboration tends to yield better results for older adults. When evaluating the uses of digital and social media engagement, in-person events, information campaigns, and other tactics, considering audience characteristics is key to an effective outreach strategy for a specific project.

Principal in Charge Pablo Gotay - St. George Downtown Area Plan

However, despite the variance from project to project, there are common goals for shaping beloved spaces through the community engagement process. We have outlined three objectives our team incorporates into each project:

  • Understand the community
  • Build support
  • Design the right building
01 – Understand the Community

More often than not, we do not live in the places in which we are building. While we bring the expertise of architects, designers, and planners, we do not bring the essential perspective of the community.

As the first goal for any public outreach project, engaging the public in a way that one can truly understand a community — who the people are, the place in which they live, and what is important to them — is the first step to learning what will make a beloved facility.

To understand the community, meet with a diverse group of members during the outreach process to identify strategic ways of reaching each population segment. To best understand their goals and perspectives, do not just share information. Instead, make it a collaborative process that allows the project team and the client to listen and ensure stakeholder voices are heard.

Bountiful City - Community Engagement

02 – Build Support

A community is unlikely to support a public project if the scope and benefits are unclear. When clients fail to be sufficiently transparent and communicative about a project — even unintentionally — they risk sowing distrust with their constituents and turning the community in opposition.

We have learned that people are more accepting of change if they know change is coming. To adequately garner support, welcome the community early into the process and immediately share the benefits and opportunities afforded by a proposed project.

While building support for public architecture tends to focus on responsible use of public funds, project teams cannot ignore the other concerns of community members. Remember, beloved buildings solve needs. Therefore, campaigns need to justify aesthetic and functional design choices in addition to the cost.

03 – Design the Right Building

The ultimate goal of the public outreach process is to design a space that is the right fit for the community. Just as no two projects or communities are alike, each engagement process will yield different outcomes.

By incorporating the public’s insights and feedback into the design process, the resulting product will truly come from the vision of the clients and community members and will genuinely contribute to the unique character of the area.

At the end of the day, creating the right project for the community will not only save the client money in the long run, but it will also become a place that everybody loves — a source of pride for the community.

Summary

Involving local communities in the design process can result in many positive outcomes for everyone involved. As architects, engineers, and owners, we have the unique opportunity to provide a voice to the community throughout the design process. When we maintain a human-centric approach to architecture, we allow the public an opportunity to shape their local environment. These combined efforts result in spaces that are beloved and deeply woven into the social fabric. When communities take pride in their local environment, they are more likely to take care of them, resulting in spaces that last for people to thrive.

About Whitney Ward

Whitney Ward, AIA, is a principal at VCBO. Since 2007, she has played a valuable role in the success of many projects and has become a recognized expert and advocate for community outreach and public engagement. Her extensive experience in programming and master planning has helped VCBO’s clients better understand their stakeholders’ needs, producing impactful results for communities in the Intermountain West.