Paulina Baeza

PAULINA BAEZA | TULSA PLANNING OFFICE, INCOG

There are often many needs associated with a large, strategic community project. How do we know where to begin? How do we prioritize the use of limited resources and make the most impactful investments? Paulina shared examples of how her work at the Tulsa Planning Office makes use of outreach, guiding principles, and data to better allocate resources and get more in return.

Use guiding principles and data to prioritize: First, understand what you are hoping to achieve through a project. Guiding principles help keep the project on track. Guiding principles can be translated into key indicators or data that can help measure existing conditions. Ultimately, this data can lead to effective prioritization of implementation.

Use regional government for help with data, or create your own: You can utilize your regional council of governments to get access to data and assistance with mapping. Also, data isn’t just limited to statistics you can find on the Census; You can create your own data through field work or surveys.

Data reveals areas of need: The City of Tulsa had a backlog of streetlight requests. In the past, the city had done streetlights on a first-come, first-served basis from citizen requests. However, there were many areas of the city in need of streetlights where residents were less likely to contact local officials with their request. Instead of waiting on citizen requests, the city created an approach using data about areas with higher crime, higher levels of walking or taking transit, etc., to proactively identify places with the greatest needs for lighting.

Data helps focus energy and effort: During the Plan 66 effort, the City of Tulsa was planning to update its master plan for its 30-mile stretch of Route 66. Spreading the available resources evenly across all 30 miles might not have resulted in the most impactful use of funds. Instead, the city used data about landmarks, assets, and opportunities on the 30-mile corridor to propose high-priority locations. Then, residents reviewed and commented on the findings to help confirm areas of priority for Route 66 investment.

Data leads to informed decision-making: During planning for Tulsa’s second BRT route, the city had to choose between numerous streets for a potential alignment. The city created teams of stakeholders, defined guiding principles, and examined feasibility factors for each route. Ultimately, based on principles like equity, economic impact, and cost, each potential BRT alignment got a score. Stakeholders helped inform the effort and confirm the top-scoring alternative.