Westside Neighborhood Plan

A coastal town with a strong tourism sector, declining manufacturing base and a regional retail hub, Michigan City enjoys significant community resources but contains an aging housing stock and aging infrastructure. Receiving federal funding under the Neighborhood Stabilization Program, community leaders recognized a need for a coordinated and analytical approach to funding improvements on the west side of town.

The Westside Neighborhood Plan included a significant multi-faceted approach to reaching out to neighborhood residents and stakeholders.

Key Methods:

• Youth engagement, including an art contest at public schools for inclusion on the workshop banner.
• Social media sites for announcements and input.
• Online Visual Preference Survey for urban design and architectural recommendations.
• Stakeholder focus groups at local neighborhood center.
• Community-wide forum that included the “Heart of Your Community” mapping activity, a capital improvements budgeting interactive exercise and the “Fix, Keep, Aspire” graphic exercise.
• Development of press releases and advertisements for outreach to local media, resulting in radio interviews and numerous newspaper articles.

 
The multi-faceted approach resulted in a consensus on recommendations for improved street lighting, neighborhood wayfinding, parking improvements and public transportation modifications.