City of Ramsey Housing Engagement Plan

Abstract

This project was completed as part of the 2017-2018 Resilient Communities Project (rcp.umn.edu) partnership with the City of Ramsey. Ramsey’s housing plan was last updated in 2008. The plan identified numerous strategies for achieving the City’s housing goals, including increased housing density, redeveloping underutilized land, and engaging underserved populations. Since then, the City has made good progress in terms of achieving its workforce and senior housing goals, but public support for some of the City’s other housing goals has not been as strong. The City requested assistance developing a communication/outreach strategy to make the case for underrepresented housing types and the value they add to the community. Students in Dr. Dan Milz’s Planning and Participation Processes addressed some of the myths around higher density housing, identified strategies for engaging the public around housing issues based on case studies of other communities, and piloted a mapping engagement strategy that can be used with the public. The students’ final report and poster are available.