5 minute read
Engagement Overview
DRAFT
Community Voices
ENGAGEMENT TOOLKIT:
Engagement Overview Newarkers were not shy about speaking up when asked about how best to shape the city over the next decade! Given the importance of this Master Plan, we knew how critical it would be to actively and efficiently collect input from Newark residents on what they want to see Newark become in 10 years. During the summer of 2021, we started our engagement efforts by piloting new ways of listening to residents in the Weeqhuaic neighborhood in the South Ward. This was done in partnership with the Marron Institute with a grant from the National Science Foundation. The City Planning Insitute engaged 24 students to do a cultural assets inventory of the city. We kicked off our citywide engagement efforts with virtual meetings on Facebook Live, and continued with a 10-part workshop series spanning all five Wards to meet Newark residents where they are. We activated young people using the Newark Story Bus, an interactive media experience where we interviewed young people ages 9-25 about their
● Newark360 Website: surveys, mapping, outreach, FAQs ● Newark360 & City of Newark Facebook and Instagram pages ● Stakeholder interviews & focus groups ● City Planning Institute high school workshop ● Story Bus youth storytelling events ● Facebook Live virtual panel events ● In-person workshops in all 5 wards ● Citywide statistically valid survey mailed to 500+ households ● Outreach from partner community groups vision for the future of Newark. We also invited residents to use the Newark360 website to send us comments and input on their specific neighborhoods and needs. Throughout the entire process, we utilized a combination of online tools, in-person activation and support from community organizations to reach Newarkers from all walks of life. DRAFT
The Newark360 Project Timeline incorporated extensive points of community engagement throughout the process
Engagement By The Numbers
Despite the challenges of engaging during the COVID-19 pandemic, we deployed a wide range of tools to invite Newarkers of all ages, backgrounds, and neighborhoods to participate in Newark360. The engagement process garnered over 10,000 touchpoints with Newarkers for this plan: Facebook Live Events: 300+ participants 550+ comments Story Bus 510 Citywide Virtual Meetings 12 Citywide Survey Responses 3 DRAFT
Appearances Thought Leader Interviews
38
10,000
10 Community Workshops: • 400+ attendees • 2,000+ comments • 8 community organizations participated DRAFT Website Visits
• 235 responses to our
Website Vision Survey • 150 responses to our
Website Plan Elements
Surveys • 207 responses to our
Community Mapping activity
Community Priorities:
Throughout the entire Newark360 process, major themes emerged repeatedly from Newarkers, no matter the format of the engagement.
My landlord does minimal maintenance - does not invest in my building. (North Ward workshop) There need to be more homeownership opportunities for lowincome people. (South Ward workshop) Support 3-generation
Housing: townhomes and aging-in-place. ● Newarkers were concerned first and (North Ward workshop) foremost about housing affordability – how much rent they were paying and holding landlords accountable for upkeep.
They want more support from the city to become homeowners in their own right. ● In the case of homeowners, the increasing costs of repair and maintenance are a concern and they would want more support for making home improvements. ● Newark seniors and legacy residents want to age in place, and are having a hard time finding adequate housing that meets all of their needs.
● Have more apprenticeship positions. More on the job training. Stress the importance of volunteerism. (Newark360 website feedback) Invest more in youth education, recreation, mental health Economic Development: Newarkers want to get good jobs in DRAFT
Newark, want training for the available and empowerment programs jobs and want companies to prioritize hiring and services. Team building locally. programs, youth programs, ● Newarkers want their kids to live here entrepreneurship training in all when they grow up, but more well-paying wards. (Newark360 website feedback) jobs are needed to meet the demand.
● Newarkers want to see great things done with all the vacant lots – affordable housing, gathering spaces, and businesses that would serve the community needs. Re-purpose vacant lots and abandoned properties. Partner with local people to redevelop. (South Ward workshop)
Transportation & Circulation:
Keep trucks off our residential streets. (East Ward workshop)
● Newarkers want their streets and sidewalks to be in good repair, and want traffic calming measures - like speed bumps – to be installed and better truck traffic control. ● PATH and light rail extensions were mentioned multiple times to improve
Newarkers' commutes. ● Newarkers want better public transit
connections between the neighborhoods
without having to go downtown, and they want to see more frequent bus services and improvement to bus shelters. ● Newarkers want more forms of support for alternative transportation, and better placement of stations for charging electric scooters.
Parks & Open Space: ● Litter and waste management in public spaces was repeated many times as a concern. People want their streets and neighborhoods looking clean and feeling safe as they walk around, and see garbage collecting in the sewers as one of the causes of flooding. ● Newarkers love their parks, and would like see more programming, more public art, exercise equipment and more amenities in their parks – in some cases better lighting and shaded places to sit would go a long way to improving their experience. In all
Wards we heard the need for more family- and child-friendly spaces to play and gather, as well as a desire for dog parks. ● Newarkers want to see more trees in all their public spaces – on the streets, in parks.
Greenway bike lane to Weequahic Park from Downtown. (East Ward workshop) We need traffic calming on Bloomfield Ave: consider green medians, planters, and sidewalk bumpouts. (North Ward workshop) Más seguridad, más máquinas para actividades físicas que beneficien a los niños y a las personas de la tercera edad. (North Ward workshop) Build playgrounds in school parks and keep DRAFT them open for the public. (East Ward workshop)
Beautify the area with plants and also have ample trash cans. (West Ward workshop) Plant more trees in our neighborhood. (South Ward workshop)
