Community Participation

Austin's greatest asset is its people: passionate about our city, committed to its improvement, and determined to see this vision become a reality. Because of participation from the great people of Austin, the Imagine Austin visioning process was named a national best practice by the Alliance for Innovation for Building a Community Vision with Sustained Community Engagement.

Community Inventory

Throughout the Imagine Austin process, many reports and analyses were conducted and created. This page collects them together.

Austinites Shaping the Plan

Austin's greatest asset is its people. With this in mind, public participation has been and continues to be the lifeblood of the Imagine Austin plan. In fact, more than 18,500 ideas and contributions from Austinites have helped shape the plan. Public participation in Imagine Austin moved in four main segments, called Community Forum Series, with numerous smaller meetings and opportunities throughout Austin.

Each Community Forum Series featured different combinations of public meetings, surveys, and opportunities for the public to hold their meetings in their own time and place. As much as possible, participants were asked to provide demographic information. Staff, the consultant team, and the Citizens Advisory Task Force monitored gaps in participation and worked to engage underrepresented communities throughout the process. Below is a summary of public participation:

Community Forum Series

Community Forum Series #1: What do we aspire to be as a community in 20 years?

Participants: 5,662

The public:

Identified issues & aspirations
Reviewed common ground from Kickoff Meeting

Work products produced:

Community Forum Series #2: What are we in the process of becoming?

Participants: 4,211

The public:

Completed 64 chip exercise maps indicating their values for where and how growth should occur
Reviewed the Draft Vision statement
Reviewed sustainability indicators and existing conditions

Work products produced:

Community Forum Series #3: What are the choices to “change course” in the direction of the Vision?

Participants: 4,741

The public:

Rated alternate future scenarios
Rated the sustainability indicators

Work Products:

Plan Framework
Preferred Growth Scenario (small PDF) (large PDF)

Working Groups: What do we need to do to achieve the Vision?

471 Austinites signed up for seven Working Groups. Each Working Group met 6 times and completed two surveys. There were also two general Working Group meetings on issues related to the Preferred Growth Scenario and six panel discussions.

Work Product:

Prioritized actions

Community Forum Series #4: Reviewing the draft plan and setting priorities

Participants: 2,979

The public review the draft plan and set priorities. The plan was presented to 19 Boards and Commissions. Over 1,800 comments on the draft plan were generated; each comment was reviewed by the Citizens Advisory Task Force, consultants and staff. In addition, the Comprehensive Plan Committee of Planning Commission reviewed 26 master plans and 28 neighborhood plans for consistency with the draft comprehensive plan.

Other Public Engagement Efforts:

Going Out Into the Community:

Speakers Bureau: 78 presentations to more than 1,655 people
Speak Week Participation: 42 events reached out to 873 people
Takin’ It To The Streets: 15 events
Community Conversation/Meeting in a Box: 1,406 participants (This # was included as part of CFS1-3 participation)

Interaction with Neighborhood Stakeholders:

Two community meetings to discuss the relationship between Imagine Austin and neighborhood plans
One community meeting to receive feedback on comparison between the Future Land Use Map and draft Preferred Growth Scenario

Other Public Forums:

University of Texas City Forum Speaker Series
Austin’s Comprehensive Plan: Opportunities and Challenges for Citizen Engagement
Comprehensive Planning: The Fort Worth Experience
Transit Integration: Light Rail and Transportation Planning in the Austin Region
Livable City: Comp Plan 101
What is Austin?: Futures Fair
Envision Central Texas: Regional Forum – Innovate or Stagnate: Could New Approaches to Infrastructure Transform Our Region?
Leadership Austin: Rising from Recession: Central Texas Strong and Sustainable
Urban Land Institute, Austin Chapter: Imagine Austin Comprehensive Plan: Impacts to Real Estate Development and Planning