The Imagine Austin visioning process was named a national "best practice" by the Alliance for Innovation for “Building a Community Vision with Sustained Community Engagement.”

Austinites Shaping the Plan

Austin's greatest asset is its people. With this in mind, public participation has been and continues to be the lifeblood of the Imagine Austin plan. In fact, more than 16,000 ideas and contributions from Austinites have helped shape the plan. Public participation in Imagine Austin moved in four main segments, called Community Forum Series, with numerous smaller meetings and opportunities throughout Austin.

Each Community Forum Series featured different combinations of public meetings, surveys, and opportunities for the public to hold their meetings in their own time and place. As much as possible, participants were asked to provide demographic information. Staff, the consultant team, and the Citizens Advisory Task Force monitored gaps in participation and worked to engage underrepresented communities throughout the process. Below is a summary of public participation:

Community Forum Series #1: What do we aspire to be as a community in 20 years?

Participation: 5,662

The public:

• Identified issues & aspirations
• Reviewed common ground from Kickoff Meeting

Work products produced: 

• Common Ground Working Paper
• Elements of the Vision statement
• Susceptibility to Change analysis
• Strategic Issues Report
• Statistically Valid Survey results

Community Forum Series #2: What are we in the process of becoming?

Participation: 4,211

The public:

• Completed 63 chip exercise maps indicating their values for where and how growth should occur
• Reviewed the Draft Vision statement
• Reviewed sustainability indicators and existing conditions

Work products produced:

• Community Inventory
• Alternative future scenarios and implications
• Definition of key issues, challenges, and strategic directions
• Vision statement

Community Forum Series #3:  What are the choices to “change course” in the direction of the Vision?

The public: 

• Rated alternate future scenarios
• Rated the sustainability indicators

Work Products Produced: 

• Plan Framework
• Preferred Growth Scenario (small PDF) (large PDF)

Working Groups: What do we need to do to achieve the Vision?

471 Austinites signed up for seven Working Groups. Each Working Group met 6 times and completed two surveys. There were also two general Working Group meetings on issues related to the Preferred Growth Scenario and six panel discussions.

Work Product:

• Prioritized actions

Community Forum Series #4 - under way in 2011

Review the plan and set priorities.

Social Media:

• Facebook:  2098 People Like It
• Twitter:  695 Followers
• E-mail interest List:  2,372 People

 
Going Out Into the Community:

• Speakers Bureau:  78 presentations to more than 1,655 people
• Speak Week Participation: 42 events reached out to 873 people
• Takin’ It To The Streets:  15 events
• Community Conversation/Meeting in a Box: 1,406 participants (This # was included as part of CFS1-3 participation)

 
Flyers and Mailouts

• Insert in Austin American-Statesmen:  80,000
• Insert in Utility Bills:  360,000
• Which Way, Austin? newsletter/survey:  200,000
• Door Hangings in target low participation neighborhoods:  10,000

 
Interaction with Neighborhood Stakeholders:

• Two community meetings to discuss the relationship between Imagine Austin and neighborhood plans
• One community meeting to receive feedback on comparison between the Future Land Use Map and draft Preferred Growth Scenario
   

Other Public Forums:

• University of Texas City Forum Speaker Series
• Austin’s Comprehensive Plan: Opportunities and Challenges for Citizen Engagement
• Comprehensive Planning: The Fort Worth Experience
• Transit Integration: Light Rail and Transportation Planning in the Austin Region
• Livable City: Comp Plan 101
• What is Austin?: Futures Fair
• Envision Central Texas: Regional Forum – Innovate or Stagnate: Could New Approaches to Infrastructure Transform Our Region?
• Leadership Austin: Rising from Recession: Central Texas Strong and Sustainable
• Urban Land Institute, Austin Chapter: Imagine Austin Comprehensive Plan: Impacts to Real Estate Development and Planning