Justice and Peace Studies – �鶹��Ƶ

Communitywide Placemaking Study

Victor Manzanilla — Wed, 01 Nov 2023 03:40:24 +0000

The City of Peoria is the 9th largest city in Arizona, with its current overall population. The city continues to grow; in the year 2016-2017, there was an increase of 1.71%. With such growth, the city’s urban areas continue to expand to accommodate a more diverse population. During times of sustained growth, city developers, designers, and other officials are presented with a unique opportunity to incorporate elements of placemaking into all forms of strategic urban plans. Placemaking is a planning approach that aims to design and manage public spaces that capitalize on local community assets, promoting people’s health, happiness, and well-being. Critical aspects of placemaking include usage, access, image, and sociability. Using this multifaceted approach increases the likelihood that residents and visitors will connect more deeply, stay longer, or engage more actively with the community than they might in a city lacking identity or a sense of place.

For this project with Peoria, students in the JUS 305 Principles of Justice course developed a community-wide placemaking survey. The survey was distributed to Peoria residents to collect feedback on their sense of place in three significant public spaces in the city (referred to as Old Town, P83, and the Four Corners areas). Results were then analyzed, and recommendations were provided regarding entertainment, economics, and accessibility, with the end goal of assisting the City of Peoria in its future developmental endeavors. The student research aims to suggest improvements for public spaces to
serve Peoria’s residents and visitors better, as well as promote existing positive aspects of the city.

COVID-19: Needs Assessment (2/3)

Victor Manzanilla — Wed, 01 Nov 2023 03:40:23 +0000

The City of Peoria has continually demonstrated itself as a forward-thinking, sustainability-minded city. With a booming economy and population growth, Peoria is presented with the opportunity to support its community as the recent COVID-19 pandemic makes its way throughout the state. With financial instability and health concerns, the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated several existing challenges, calling upon municipal entities to inform and facilitate emergency services.

To encompass a breadth of COVID-related challenges, three different classes, from various backgrounds, set out to understand and evaluate the impact of COVID-19 on the City of Peoria and its residents. Each class evaluated a unique challenge and subsequently drafted diverse recommendations for the City of Peoria to consider. Each class worked directly with the City of Peoria, and research methods ranged from literature review to focus groups to provide the City with recommendations.

For the COVID needs assessment, students interviewed Peoria organizations and residents to identify gaps, needs, and availability of resources that affects the organizations’ ability to react to challenges such as COVID-19. For their final deliverable, students identified key recommendations for each of the 21 participating organizations.

Community Engagement Strategy

Victor Manzanilla — Wed, 01 Nov 2023 03:40:17 +0000

The City of Peoria has long dedicated itself to providing its residents with an excellent standard of living, which is reflected in its general planning documents, including its Sustainability Action Plan and Livability Initiatives. As a growing community, continuing to engage residents with its planning and information sharing is pertinent to maintaining its livability. Continually engaging with the public is essential for any municipality, and community engagement strategies seek to engage its residents in planning processes.

Given the recent shocks to the community with COVID-19, Peoria’s Office of Communication strives to reach all Peoria residents with community activities like public engagement processes, public safety updates, and much more. In order to better communicate with its residents, the City is interested in identifying its “hard-to-reach” residents to design strategies for reaching these populations.

During the fall 2021 semester, three graduate students from Greg Broberg’s JUS 500 Research Methods course created a project plan, which the students from his spring 2022 JUS 301 Research Methods course put into action. Undergraduate students in the School of Social Transformation conducted surveys of Peoria residents to gauge how residents receive information. Through an online community survey and an in-person survey, students analyzed Peoria residents’ perceptions of community services, such as childcare, financial resources, and resource accessibility. Students then crafted recommendations for the City of Peoria to consider in expanding its community engagement efforts and identifying Peoria’s hard-to-reach residents.

The student research intends to provide Peoria with additional ways to communicate with Peoria’s residents. Students recommend expanding PeoriaÕs communication methods, including social media or through a neighborhood app. Additionally, survey results revealed that residents would like expanded community services, such as childcare and financial resources. By expanding its reach to all Peoria residents, the City of Peoria can carefully consider how to engage community members further to inform its planning efforts.

Engaging the Diverse Stories of Transit Riders

Victor Manzanilla — Wed, 01 Nov 2023 03:36:22 +0000

Metro Transit has an overarching goal of communicating the importance of public transportation to the Twin Cities community to raise awareness of transit as a community asset. Students will research the diverse stories of transit riders and how transit has been a part of their lives. Students will collaborate with SCP Artist-in-Residence Sarah Nelson to translate their research into illustrations. These illustrations will be displayed on a bus or lightrail train to engage the broader public with these real-life narratives. This course is part of SCP Arts.

Read the final student report delivered to the local gov/community partner.

Sustainable Communities Partnership Contact Info

University Faculty Contact
Mike Klein
Justice and Peace Studies
Associate Professor & Program Dean
mcklein@stthomas.edu
(651) 962-5378

Local Government / Community Contact
Kelly Morrell

Commuter Programs Specialist
kelly.morrell@metrotransit.org
612-349-7563