Meeting Communities Where They Are: City of Minneapolis 2040 Plan Community Re-Engagement

Abstract

This report addresses community re-engagement surrounding the Minneapolis 2040 Comprehensive Plan. The City of Minneapolis Department of Community Planning and Economic Development (CPED) engagement efforts significantly stalled after 2019 due to staffing changes in the City, the murder of George Floyd, and the COVID-19 pandemic. Our capstone project aimed to re-establish community connections and learn preferred methods to engage with community groups and sustain long-term relationships. Our report synthesizes the academic literature on community engagement and peer city engagement practices, which highlight the importance of diverse and adaptable engagement methods, transparency, and accountability to community input. Our team conducted interviews with community engagement practitioners in Minneapolis and organizational leaders from the Native American, Youth, and African American communities. Our qualitative analysis revealed four key findings: 1) community members have minimal understanding of the 2040 Plan and its impact; 2) community leaders feel City action on identified priorities is lacking; 3) the lapse in engagement weakened the meaningful relationships built during prior planning cycles; and 4) navigating changing city dynamics within the comprehensive planning period poses challenges for both City staff and community members. Based on these findings and peer city analysis, we recommended both lower and higher cost interventions. On the lower cost end, we recommend CPED attend events already happening in the community, leverage existing community organizations as trusted partners, and break down complex plan information into understandable pieces. Our higher-cost recommendations include seeking funding for a dedicated full-time community engagement specialist within CPED and determining preferred engagement methods and frequency of communications with each community. There is a critical need for CPED to do continuous community engagement. Our report and accompanying one-pagers provide both a theoretical framework and the community perspective for this ongoing engagement to occur.