Getting Your Data: Community Visioning

Activity: 3.8 Community Timeline

Purpose of the Activity:

This activity is designed to give participants information about the history of your community.  It will help build a shared analysis of the past in order to think collectively about a vision for the community’s future.  The activity will also introduce participants to community visioning as a research method.

By the End of Activity Participants Will:

• Have learned about the history and timeline of the community or issue you are working on
• Have learned about community visioning as a research method

Before this Activity Participants Will Need to:

Know about your campaign and how research fits into the campaign

Materials Needed:

Paper

Writing Utensils

Timeline for wall

Post-it notes

Intended Audience:

Members or Staff of your Organization

Time Needed:

45 Minutes

Part I: Introduction to Community Visioning (15minutes)

Facilitator Instructions:

1. Welcome everyone.  Ask attendees to introduce themselves and mention one recent change that they have noticed in the neighborhood.
2. Explain that we are here today as part of a community visioning process to have our voices heard about what type of future we want for our community (or schools, housing complex, etc.).
3. Explain that everyone’s input will be used to create a plan for the future of our community.

Part II: Timeline of Community Development (30 minutes)

Facilitator Instructions:

1. Before the meeting put a timeline on the wall.  You can start as far back as you think makes sense and can divide the years in 5 or 10 year increments (i.e. 1950s, 1960s, etc.).
2. Make sure participants are seated in a way that they are able to see timeline on the wall.
3. Set the context: before we come up with a plan for our community’s future development we want to review the history of development in our neighborhood.
4. Give each participant several post-it notes and ask them to write something that happened in the neighborhood during some point along the timeline.  This could include the creation or demolition of a building or school or a major political or social event.
5. Ask everyone to place the post-it notes on the wall next to the corresponding year(s).
6. Ask participants to explain what they put on the timeline. Make it interactive. Ask participants for input: Does anyone remember when building x was demolished and a luxury condo was built in its place? Who can describe what the community looked like in the 1970s, 80s or 90s and how it was different than today?
7. As you finish the timeline and get to the present, get the group to analyze the development process. Are there any major trends that stick out over time? Are these trends good for our community or not? What does this history mean for our community now?

Activity: 3.9 Our Vision, Our Neighborhood

Purpose of Activity:

This activity is designed to encourage the group to think about the future of their community. The participants will have the opportunity to explain and prioritize the types of services, programs and businesses they want to see in their neighborhood.  They will also be able to articulate the concerns they have for the future of their community.

By the End of Activity Participants Will:

• Identify which types services, programs and businesses they want to see in the community
• Explain concerns for future of the neighborhood

Before this Activity Participants Will Need to:

Have determined your research goals and research question

Have decided on your research method

Goals:

To develop vision for the future of the community

To get more in depth explanations and visualization from participants about what they want in their neighborhood

Materials Needed:

Butcher Paper

Markers

“Our Neighborhood” charts/print outs

“Our Neighborhood” category description

Different color stickers

Notebooks (for note-takers)

Pens

Time Needed:

2 hours

Description of Our Neighborhood Activity:

Participants will be given stickers and asked to choose the activities that they prefer to do during a day in the neighborhood. The facilitator will use the “our neighborhood” activity chart/print-out, which will have visual representations of a variety of activities for participants to choose from. The activity is organized into two parts. 1) Services and Programs: Sticker voting on free activities, services and programs etc.  2) Businesses: Sticker voting on businesses for the community.

Part I: Our Neighborhood Services & Programs (45 minutes)

Facilitator Instructions:

1. Prepare the “Our Neighborhood” chart and category description handout (see Tool 3.12) in advance of the meeting.
2. Split the group up into groups of 5 (modify group size based on number of training participants).
3. Give each group a Chart and the accompanying handout.
4. Introduce the activity to the group. Explain that the activity is designed to get a sense of what types of activities and developments we want to see in our community. Explain that the activity will be split into two parts: 1) Services and Programs, and 2) Businesses.
5. Explain directions for the activity: The “Our Neighborhood” chart is split into different possible services and programs that could be developed in the neighborhood. The accompanying handout has descriptions of these activities.
6. Ask for a volunteer to read the descriptions for each of the activities on the chart.
7. Give each person three stickers. Ask Participants to place a sticker next to the top three activities that they would like to do in the neighborhood free of charge.
8. After each participant has voted on their top 3 choices, go around the table and ask each participant to answer the questions below. Make sure everyone has a chance to speak.  The facilitator should write people’s responses in shorthand on the butcher paper and the note-taker should be capturing quotes from the participants.

Debrief Questions (capture responses on butcher paper and in notes):

• What is the service or program you voted on during the activity we just did (again these are free services and programs)?
• What would this service or program look like?
• Why is it important to your community?

Part II: Our Neighborhood Businesses (45 minutes)

Facilitator Instructions:

1. Make sure each table has the “Business” section of the “Our Neighborhood” chart.
2. Ask a volunteer to read the descriptions of each business type listed in the handout.
3. Distribute 5 stickers to each participant and explain that each sticker represents one dollar.
4. Have participants “spend” their five dollars at businesses that they would like to see in the neighborhood.
5. After each participant has spent their five dollars.  Go around the table and ask each participant to answer the questions below. Make sure everyone has a chance to speak.  The facilitator should write people’s responses in shorthand on the butcher paper and the note-taker should be capturing quotes from the participants.

Debrief Questions:

• What is the business you voted on during the activity we just did?
• What would this service or program look like?
• Why is it important to your community?

Part III: Development Concerns (30 minutes)

Facilitator Instructions:

Development Concerns

• Do you have concerns about development in your neighborhood? What is your primary concern?
• Please be as specific as possible about your concern and why you have it.

Tool: 3.13 Our Neighborhood Activity Chart—Services & Programs

Category Descriptions—Services & Programs

Education: How can our community use the neighborhood better for educational activities? Put your sticker here if you’d like to see more education related activities in the neighborhood. This includes both formal educational centers like public schools, as well as non-formal educational centers like museums, non-profits that run educational programs like nutrition education, tutoring, adult education, etc.

Arts & Culture: Are there specific art or cultural resources that our community needs? Free movie screenings, performances, public art, cultural celebrations? Are there local artists, performers or musicians that could be showcased? Should the neighborhood have a space for cultural events? Put your sticker here if you’d like to see more opportunities for Arts & Culture in the community.

Information: What kind of information do we need in our neighborhood? Information about programming and services? Maps to orient you? Translated signage? Places to post information about community issues? Who should the information be targeted to? Put your sticker here if you think there should be more spaces that distribute information in the neighborhood.

Open Space: Do we need big grassy areas to have a picnic, barbeque, relax, play games, exercise, etc.? What about green spaces for community gardening? Put your sticker here if you think we need more open space in the neighborhood.

Social Services: Should there be spaces to accommodate social services? Some examples of social services might include health services, tenant workshops, family services, job training centers etc. Which services do we need more of in the community? Put your sticker here if you think we need more social service centers in the community.

Sports & Recreation: What kinds of sport or recreational activities would you like to do? Basketball, tai chi, hand-ball, running? Put your sticker here if you think we need more space for sports and recreational activities in the community.

Other: Are there other activities that are not shown here that you would like to do in your neighborhood? Put your sticker here if have other ideas of what is needed in your community, and be ready to describe your ideas to the rest of the group.

Tool: 3.14 Our Neighborhood Activity Chart—Businesses

Category Descriptions—Businesses

Food and Dining: What kinds of food vendors would you like to see in your community? Where would you eat or buy food? At a noodle cart, a kiosk, a café or a fancy restaurant? Should there be greenmarkets, or fruit and vegetable stands? If you think there should be more food and dining options in the neighborhood put your dollars here.

Entertainment: What about bars and clubs? Should there be nightlife in your neighborhood? If so what types of nightlife? Put your dollars here if you’d like to see more entertainment in your neighborhood.

Shopping: What kind of shopping would you like to do in your neighborhood? Should there be retail stores, small businesses, big box stores, or discount stores? Put your dollars here if you’d like there to be more shops and shopping centers in your community.

Sports and Recreation: What kind of sports and recreational services would you be willing to pay for?  Bike/boat rentals? Mini-golf? Put your dollars here if you’d like to see more sports/recreation related businesses in the neighborhood.

Other: What other business might you like to see in your neighborhood that is not represented here? Put your dollars here if you have another type of business you’d like to see in the community. Be prepared to share your thoughts with the group.