Design and Engagement
Do you have a vision?
CHPlanning offers impact assessments, design services, and implementation plans to make that vision a reality. We have design experience that includes parks, trails, neighborhood public spaces, open spaces, and brownfield sites. Our expertise and reputation have led our clients to seek us out again and again for comprehensive plans, stakeholder and public outreach, and professional planning expertise.
Inclusive Outreach for Lead Service Line Inventory
In 2022, the Pennsylvania American Water Company launched an initiative to ask its 600,000+ water customers to submit photos of their incoming water lines to verify presence of lead piping.
This will inform a lead pipe replacement program to prevent the potential health hazards of lead piping.
We are developing and executing strategies to maximize program participation by customers who may face challenges to doing so. We used GIS tools to analyze demographics of water service areas to identify factors that may present barriers to participation, such as higher populations of customers who are elderly, Black, without internet access, or non-English speaking. We also identified school districts and other community organizations able to help engage hard-to-reach customers. We are conducting outreach to these organizations and developing eye-catching, informative graphic design for postcard and social media surveys to be sent to all customers.
North Camden Neighborhood Plan
The comprehensive update of the North Camden Neighborhood Plan provides a long-term vision for the future of North Camden and serves as a roadmap for community revitalization.
We led an intensive public involvement effort and brought together various organizations and residents to define shared values and reach consensus on priority improvements. We managed the community outreach plan, facilitated focus groups and public meetings attended by hundreds of stakeholders and neighborhood residents, created and conducted surveys of residents to identify important issues and community concerns,cconducted neighborhood demographic research, and prepared GIS maps of existing conditions.
Downtown Dandbury Mixed-Use Redevelopment Visioning
Our team studied potential to redevelop five underutilized downtown commercial and industrial properties with multifamily housing and active ground-level retail or commercial space. We composed 3D diagrams explaining zoning updates needed in three different zones to enable walkable mixed-use development on the sites. Zoning adjustments included decreasing excessive setbacks, enabling residential use where not permitted, allowing additional stories if stepped-back from lower context, and adding flexibility for off-site parking. We also prepared before/after visualizations of redevelopment on three sites, demonstrating urban design strategies to fit well with neighborhood context and pedestrian-friendly streets. This effort contributed to a citywide Plan of Community Development led by FHI Studio.