Second Round of Tactical Urbanism Materials and Design Workshops Now Open

Calling all cities!

Street Plans is currently booking Public Work(s)hops for fall 2017 and winter 2018. The new Public Work(s)hops series is the next phase of the Tactical Urbanist’s Guide to Materials and Design workshop effort that took place in fall 2016 and winter 2017.

Phase 1: Beta City Workshop Series

Undertaken with an initial round of funding from the Knight Foundation, the first “beta city” workshop series focused on sharing best practices from the the Materials and Design Guide, and helping cities and citizens jumpstart Tactical Urbanism projects in their communities.Street Plans worked with 6 cities in fall 2016 and winter 2017, crafting workshops to meet their public space, transportation, and community engagement goals. The results of those workshops have led to the implementation of projects and the development of new policies that help cities and citizens deliver better performing streets and public spaces, together. For example:

The City of Fayetteville, AR built and studied the impact of a pilot roundabout, and has since developed a Community-Led Tactical Urbanism program.
The City of West Palm Beach painted a giant intersection mural with local high school students.
The City of Long Beach tested a ‘streetlet’ to bring public space to an undeserved area of the city.

Phase 2: Public Work(s)hops

Phase 2 of the series will pair Street Plans with well-matched government agencies, community groups, and non-profit organizations. While the project types will vary, the goal of each workshop is to develop specific action plans leading to the quick realization of a demonstration, pilot, or interim design project that may be delivered in 2018. While there is no longer foundation funding associated with this series, cities are encouraged to contact us to discuss their project goals, desired timeline, and the funding they have available for the workshop and project delivery. Note, each workshop will require the participation of public works officials and other city agencies; political leaders; the business community; community members and advocacy groups. We’ve found that this approach helps generate more successful short-term projects that open the pathway for long-term transformation.

Public Work(s)hops are a good fit for agencies who are:

➜ Able to designate at least one workshop coordinator who will take ownership of co-organizing the workshop. This role involves providing our team with logistical support venue, printing select materials, and bringing together workshop participants, including technical officials, city councilors, traffic engineers, and city planners/designers.

➜ Committed politically to the advancement of safe street design and can demonstrate said commitment through the adoption/application of advanced transportation policy and design guides, including but not limited to Vision Zero, Complete Streets, NACTO Urban Street Design Guide, and/or ITE’s Walkable Urban Thoroughfares Manual.

➜ Have a strong track record of collaboration across various city, regional, and state departments of planning, transportation, public works, and public health to advance 21st century street and community design principles.

➜ Relatively little experience using temporary projects to increase public engagement and streamline safe street implementation.

For more information and workshop fee estimates, please email us at info@streetplans.org.