Would you guess that the people in these pictures are at a planning meeting?
On May 13th the What’s Next Workshop officially kicked off Go North Olmsted, the 2015 Master Plan update process in North Olmsted, Ohio. As we began designing the public process, the city challenged us to create unconventional and fun public events that would help to overcome community apathy and promote a positive outlook on the city and its future.
This event was intended to be part educational and part input gathering. But equally important was its role of building credibility and trust in the community. To do so it needed to be a strongly positive experience for participants.
As the workshop began, participants were entertained by a short concert from the high school jazz band. Then, after a brief introduction to the process, we asked participants to share what they treasure most about North Olmsted today and what they think the city’s greatest opportunity is in the future. During the second part of the workshop, participants were treated to an interactive trivia game designed to increase their knowledge about important demographic and economic factors that will be addressed in the upcoming plan update.
The trivia game was new public workshop activity for us and most participants seemed to have a great time while recognizing how the trivia connected to important trends and issues the community is facing.
“It taught me a lot I didn’t know, it was fun, and interesting.” said one workshop participant.
The next public event is scheduled to take place in August.
Thanks Ken Srail for the great photos.
