Reconnecting Neighborhoods, Engaging Communities Online

Metropolitan Planning Council (MPC) partnered with the City of Chicago, Regional Transportation Authority, and the planning firm HNTB to address the lack of transit and service options in three areas of Chicago where deteriorating public housing developments have been reborn as vibrant mixed-income communities.  MPC’s role in the project, Reconnecting Neighborhoods, was to engage the residents of the communities to find out what transit and service development they needed to improve their quality of life.

Valerie Denney Communications (VDC) worked with a designer and web firm to design a website that would support the results of community meetings and polling.  The site needed to help keep meeting participants engaged, make additional connections, and demonstrate the data and views coming out of the three neighborhoods. The website included a blog to announce meetings and encourage discussion, and interactive maps showing where the areas were and the views of people living there.

VDC used existing tools and good design to help the Reconnecting Neighborhoods project build a space online to support its activities in the neighborhood.