Three Keys to Public Meeting Success
by Tanya Zwahlen Last night was the first public meeting for the City of Rochester Bull's Head Brownfield Opportunity Area Step 2 Revitalization Plan project. The purpose of the meeting…
Economic Empowerment Pt 1
Redefining Economic Development through Public Engagement Economic development can be intimidating. There is a reason we don’t see charrettes or mobile workshops or photo contests devoted to topics like “evaluating…
Beyond the Powerpoint: Summer Engagement Techniques
by Susan Hopkins As New Yorkers, we cherish our summers. As planners, we know that summer can be a challenging time to engage communities in planning initiatives. We’re competing with…
Go to Them and K.i.s.s.
by Tanya Zwahlen I'm on my way back from the American Planning Association conference in New York right now. By Amtrak train. Which means I've got time to kill. Like…
The Street Liason is In
by Jen Topa It brings me pleasure to serve in the role of Street Liaison for the City of Rochester, because the position merges my background in Sales and Marketing…
Experts Vs. the Public
by Tanya Zwahlen My friend Jason recently tweeted a link to this article from 2013, entitled "The Death of Expertise" by Tom Nichols. Nichols argues that given the new social media environment…
Planting Business Association
by M. Andre Primus We are once again working as the Street Liaisons for the NW and SE quadrants of Rochester. As Street Liaisons, we work to increase investment and…
Rochester’s First Ecodistrict
by M. André Primus One of the more exciting projects we have had the opportunity to work on lately is the Greentopia EcoDistrict. Last month, we held our first public…
Why I Became a Planner
by Tanya Zwahlen Last Wednesday, I received an email from my eight year old son, Christian Hartley. I didn't know he had an email address, but apparently he does. He…