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Innovation in...Collaboration
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Cities are most resilient when people help each other and work together. Fostering an environment of collaboration begins with creative ways to bring the public and private sector together. While what motivates each entity varies, those involved tend to share a commitment to building community.
UTILIZE DESIGN CHARRETTES
“Innovation” is the operative word as cities try to do more with less. Local governments are challenged every year with budget constraints coupled with rising costs in infrastructure and services and the desire to maintain a robust quality of life. To maximize investment and taxpayer buy-in, some local governments are bringing in new experts: their citizens. Public input is invaluable in providing local knowledge and experiences to better shape public spaces.
Opportunities often present themselves through open collaboration. While implementing change through public spaces or semi-public spaces, design charrettes often maximize these opportunities. Leveraging experts’ talents with the local knowledge of stakeholders, property owners, elected officials, and businesses and input from those who will ultimately use the space, will create a better product. A design charrette is an excellent method for implementing public participation and often is required depending on the funding sources of a project. It also creates a sense of ownership for the citizens involved. This, in turn, adds to community support and pride of ownership. This method of design and citizen input should be continued to activate social spaces.
In collaboration with the University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension, the City of Manchester, private sector representatives, and the interested public, plans were developed for Gateway Park. This process was an extensive workshop and multi-day charrette, resulting in a work scope that included education, historical reference, public safety, technology, and permaculture.
EXPLORE HIGH-TECH WAYS TO INCREASE TRANSPARENCY
Municipal governments have more tools at their disposal than ever before when it comes to community engagement. Cityled initiatives are most likely successful when decision-makers engage the community in a collaborative process, from inception to completion and beyond, into the implementation and evaluation stages. Manchester has an opportunity to employ technology to raise awareness of initiatives and, if appropriate, bring citizens and other stakeholders together in person and virtually. Whether using social media to capture the attention and input of community members or using state-of-the art design software to convey conceptual development ideas with visualizations (i.e., 3-D renderings), Manchester should explore the many ways various interest groups can be engaged, looking specifically at how they prefer to receive information and give feedback. Using the tools that are most effective for each audience is key.
MAKE USE OF PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS (P3S)
Thinking outside the box means not being constrained by typical relationships and roles. Many cities today are using Public-Private Partnerships (P3s) to identify and move on opportunities that wouldn’t be possible otherwise. A P3 is a formal mechanism to facilitate the public (the City) partnering with private entities (such as developers) to reach a goal. P3s are particularly useful for incentivizing development such as large mixed-use projects, though the level of partnership is flexible and can be adjusted according to need. Manchester has begun to make use of these tools, including in the Rex Theater renovation, and should continue to explore ways to partner with the private sector on projects to enhance key areas of the City.
