Learn, Participate, Lead: Engaging Residents in Comprehensive Planning

Abstract

This project was completed as part of a year-long partnership between the City of Rosemount and the University of Minnesota’s Resilient Communities Project (http://www.rcp.umn.edu). Every 10 years, counties, cities, and townships in the Twin Cities metropolitan area are required to update their comprehensive plans, which guide transportation, utility, land use, recreation, and housing policy and planning for the coming decade. As Rosemount embarked on the process of revising its plan for submittal to the Metropolitan Council in 2018, the City sought to re-evaluate how it could meaningfully engage residents in shaping their community. The goal of this project was to develop a proposal for a broadly inclusive public engagement process for Rosemount’s upcoming 2040 Comprehensive Plan update. In collaboration with city project lead Kim Lindquist, Community Development Director for the City of Rosemount, a team of students in PA 5253: Planning and Participation Processes designed a unique participation process that the City of Rosemount could implement over the coming years to foster communication and collaboration between the City and residents as they plan for the years ahead. A final report and presentation from the project is available.