OUTDOOR COMMUNITY EVENTS

Getting community members on board by organizing a fun event on the site

Homemade cookies designed by local bakery for Myles-Wimberly Park outdoor event day. Image source: Katherine Melcher

PURPOSE:

The purpose of this format is to meet people where they are. Community engagement should be born out of a place of respect for the community you are working in and designing for.

DESIGN PHASE:

(highlighted in bold are the phase or phases most applicable)

Vision and goals
Site exploration
Program development
Co-design
Design evaluation
Implementation

MATERIALS NEEDED:

Food of some sort
Gathering space (covered for weather)
Entertainment for kids (e.g. bouncy house)
Ready and able community members

TIME REQUIRED:

Synchronous

Total time of event likely 2-3 hours posed as a stop-in event to get as many people as possible throughout the day

The outdoor community event format gathers many different members of the community either working the event or attending to show their appreciation/care for the site and its new development.

In the beginning of the design process, the outdoor community event was a way to meet people where they are to discuss the state of their project site. For a community that uses a certain outdoor site for family reunions, church events, and other gatherings, an outdoor event on the site seems a perfect place for everyone to meet.
This type of engagement style is best for a community that already has a strong sense of togetherness in a certain place or for a project that is dealing with a historic area of great significance to the community.
While cooking out burgers and hotdogs and listening to a DJ, the event was a great place for us to comfortably discuss and enquire of the people about what they like/don't like about the park, how some older members have seen it change and progress through the years, and what they want to see changed for the better.
This engagement format was an idea from the client/the city of Barnesville, seeing as they know their community better than we do and can say what will draw the most attention/participation.

HOw-TO

The process of the Outdoor Engagement Event may vary based on the community's existing culture. Events ideas like cookouts and DJs may work for some communities and not for others, it is about finding someone in the community that knows them best and can organize an event that will attract a crowd.

Steps

Organize event around community schedule/calendar to find the best day for the majority
Have volunteering opportunities for community members to lend a hand
Advertise event on community's platform of choice (i.e. Facebook post, flyers, community forum, etc.)
Leave room for passiveness and people to drop in as they like/have time
Have other intentional activities for those that wish to participate

Encouraging kids to play and have fun on the site while asking questions about their favorite part of the site. Image source: Katherine Melcher

Consulting community members about their experiences on the site. Image source: Katherine Melcher

Case Example: MYLES-WIMBERLY PARK - BARNESVILLE, GA

While cooking out burgers and hotdogs and listening to a DJ, the event was a great place for us to comfortably discuss and enquire of the people about what they like/don't like about the park, how some older members have seen it change and progress through the years, and what they want to see changed for the better.

This engagement format was an idea from the client/the city of Barnesville, seeing as they know their community better than we do and can say what will draw the most attention/participation and make the community members feel the most comfortable. Community members treated the event like they would any other and trickled in and out in waves. This made the discussion process a bit harder because some could not stay long enough to share stories and give new ideas, but it was likely most beneficial for feedback on the dot sticker activity taking place passively throughout the duration of the event.

Lessons Learned

Not to push questions, rather be open to listening to the community members just sharing their stories (who knows what it could inspire or lead to?)
Ask the kids to explain their drawings, you can get more out of how they explain what they drew than what they actually drew most often

Website entries and project content were developed by Maggie Dyer.

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