The most successful plans that we have implemented are those where the community had a stake in the creation of the plan no one can know a community better than those that live and work there.
Vision Planning
Vision planning is the unique public participation process created by A. Nelessen Associates (ANA). This process includes the Visual Preference Surveytm (VPS), Community Questionnaire, Analysis of VPS and Questionnaire, Vision Translation Workshop, Vision Plan, Design Guidelines, and Final Plan. The VPS serves as an innovative method of community participation in the planning process that is custom tailored to the communitys needs and concerns. The Translation Workshop allows concerned citizens and civic leaders to become designers and draw their community of the future. The ANA team synthesizes these recommendations into a consensus-vision based plan. Draft vision plans are presented to the public for additional comments, and revised accordingly. The vision plan and design guidelines become the foundation for new comprehensive plans, redevelopment plans, and zoning codes. The final result is an accepted and coordinated document consistent with the positive aspirations and economic rational of all participants.
Fieldwork
A typical VPS survey consists of 80 to 120 images and takes between 1 and 2 hours to present. Images are viewed individually and the public rates them on a scale of -10 to 10 in response to the question: How appropriate is the image you are seeing, now and in the future?
Throughout the presentation the public will have a chance to rate photographic simulations of possible future improvements to existing conditions. For example, we can see what a street would look like with additional trees, different street lights, sidewalks, or a change in the buildings location. These before and after images allow the public to truly visualize what their community could be.
The Visual Preference Survey is supplemented with a written questionnaire of demographic and policy questions. Policy questions can be asked regarding: housing, shopping patterns, traffic and commuter patterns, perceptions of crime, ratings of public facilities, urban design, downtown redevelopment, the environment, tourism, governmental organization, education, recreation, historic preservation, and transportation issues. This questionnaire provides additional insight to what problems and opportunities the public perceives for the community in the future.
The VPS results and policy recommendations are presented to the Advisory Committee and Task Force for their review before it is presented to the general public.
Vision Planning
Vision planning is the unique public participation process created by A. Nelessen Associates (ANA). This process includes the Visual Preference Surveytm (VPS), Community Questionnaire, Analysis of VPS and Questionnaire, Vision Translation Workshop, Vision Plan, Design Guidelines, and Final Plan. The VPS serves as an innovative method of community participation in the planning process that is custom tailored to the communitys needs and concerns. The Translation Workshop allows concerned citizens and civic leaders to become designers and draw their community of the future. The ANA team synthesizes these recommendations into a consensus-vision based plan. Draft vision plans are presented to the public for additional comments, and revised accordingly. The vision plan and design guidelines become the foundation for new comprehensive plans, redevelopment plans, and zoning codes. The final result is an accepted and coordinated document consistent with the positive aspirations and economic rational of all participants.
Fieldwork
ANA has created a proven, effective and efficient tool involving photographs, maps and written questions in order to identify and address areas of specific concern for the community. ANA begins by meeting with a local Task Force comprised of local leaders, such as members of the City Council, planning and zoning boards, key individuals from the planning department, department heads, developers, political and business leaders, and influential members of the community and a local Advisory committee of concerned citizens. These groups will act as sounding boards, provide guidance through the fieldwork stage, and ensure appropriate implementation once the plan is completed.
The fieldwork portion of the process also consists of walking the entire site to gain a better understanding of the diversity of conditions and history of the area. The Task Force and Advisory committees will direct our photographic fieldwork with a list of issues and concerns, which will become the backbone of the Visual Preference Survey.
The fieldwork portion of the process also consists of walking the entire site to gain a better understanding of the diversity of conditions and history of the area. The Task Force and Advisory committees will direct our photographic fieldwork with a list of issues and concerns, which will become the backbone of the Visual Preference Survey.
The VPS and Questionnaire
The Visual Preference Survey (VPS) is the corner stone for community involvement in the visioning process. ANA will work with the client to design and produce a media plan to ensure maximum public involvement. ANA can even administer the survey on video or via the internet, depending on the communitys needs.A typical VPS survey consists of 80 to 120 images and takes between 1 and 2 hours to present. Images are viewed individually and the public rates them on a scale of -10 to 10 in response to the question: How appropriate is the image you are seeing, now and in the future?
Throughout the presentation the public will have a chance to rate photographic simulations of possible future improvements to existing conditions. For example, we can see what a street would look like with additional trees, different street lights, sidewalks, or a change in the buildings location. These before and after images allow the public to truly visualize what their community could be.
The Visual Preference Survey is supplemented with a written questionnaire of demographic and policy questions. Policy questions can be asked regarding: housing, shopping patterns, traffic and commuter patterns, perceptions of crime, ratings of public facilities, urban design, downtown redevelopment, the environment, tourism, governmental organization, education, recreation, historic preservation, and transportation issues. This questionnaire provides additional insight to what problems and opportunities the public perceives for the community in the future.
Vision Translation Workshop
The Vision Translation Workshop takes the analysis results of the VPS and the questionnaire and asks the public to rank their goals and objectives. In addition, ANA facilitates an interactive segment allowing members of the community to physically plan their community through the use of blocks, paper pieces, and other basic methods. This gives the public a first hand opportunity to show where their visions are most appropriately applied.VPS and Questionnaire Analysis
The average VPS rating for each image, along with the standard deviation, represents the collective opinion of the survey participants. The images are analyzed to determine which design elements contribute to both positive and negative ratings and compared to the questionnaire results. The combination of the image evaluations and questionnaire responses are reviewed in connection to the existing development regulations. This lays the ground work for regulation reform and future planning.The VPS results and policy recommendations are presented to the Advisory Committee and Task Force for their review before it is presented to the general public.
