Award
2017 Honor Award
Site
Elmhurst, IL
Client
Elmhurst Park District
Category
Communications
Landscape Architects
Project Details
The Elmhurst Park District Vision 2020: Comprehensive and Strategic Plan will drive long-range planning, direct decision-making, and assist with allocating resources for the District by defining a clear vision for its future. The planning team was led by The Lakota Group, and included Dewberry Architects, Primera Engineers, Recreation Results, PROS Consulting, and ETC Institute, under the leadership and guidance of the Park District’s Board of Commissioners and Administrative staff.
The diverse team created a Plan that enables decision-makers to prioritize resources for growth and development in a fiscally-responsible, environmentally sound, publicly supported, and politically prudent manner.
This Plan provided a foundation for building credibility and established consensus on important community issues. It engaged the community, successfully transforming their vision into a tangible implementation strategy that was then communicated back to the community through a variety of mechanisms. Nearly 3,000 community-based touchpoints were engaged during this process through online surveys, a statistically-valid survey, project website, open houses, focus groups, and interviews. The planning team facilitated a plethora of opportunities for residents of the mid-size park district to engage in the process. An easy-to-understand infographic makes the Plan accessible to the public in ways traditional planning documents are not. The means and methods used to communicate the final Plan help foster a culture of transparency, build credibility, and establish trust in the Districts spending and actions. Because of the level of engagement in the process, the District has the buy-in and support to begin implementation in 2018.
Project Team
Project Team: Dewberry Architects; Primera Engineers; PROS Consulting; Recreation Results; ETC Institute