Forever North Seeks Community Voice to Inform Future of 24th
“Quality public spaces are essential for vibrant neighborhoods and strong communities,” said Manuel Cook, neighborhood planner for the City of Omaha.
The city’s neighborhood planning division has scheduled a series of focused place assessments along the North 24th Street Corridor to learn more about the area while helping to shape its trajectory through a study called “Forever North.” The study area spans from Ames Avenue on the north, to Cuming Street on the south, and from Highway 75 on the west, to 20th Street on the east.
“Everyday people’s feedback is key to making this study successful. That’s how it will benefit more people,” said Cook.
Place assessment and community preference workshops will be held every Wednesday and Thursday evening from 4-6 p.m. through August 15th at The Union for Contemporary Art (2423 N 24th St.)
What is a place assessment?
A place assessment is an interactive way for people to evaluate a location and measure its usefulness, accessibility, and potential. Activities during a place assessment include walking through and around the space, noting deteriorating infrastructure as well as well-maintained assets like buildings and monuments, and discussing whether or not the space works as intended or desired. Meanwhile, participants discuss possible uses, improvements, or activities that would be preferred.
Why is it useful?
Place assessments are useful because they help people look more closely at the details of a place and think of ways to make that environment more accommodating. It can also provide a vocabulary to describe how people feel about a place, what kind of experience they would prefer, and ways to make improvements.
What impact will it have on North 24th street?
North 24th Street has a rich history and a deep potential for economic, cultural, and housing development but in order to ensure that the revitalization is inclusive and collectively beneficial, a well-attended place assessment can collect feedback from people who are currently affected by, care about, and are involved with, the area.
Why should someone participate?
You are encouraged to attend a place assessment because your experience is valuable. Planners, engineers, and elected officials have a limited view of how spaces and places work on a daily basis. In order to make sure decisions bring positive results, input from people who live, work and play in the area of focus is essential.
The Forever North study has a number of events open to the public including the Community Block Party on Saturday, July 20 hosted by Global Leadership Group at 3118 North 24th Street from 6-9 p.m.
There are weekly office hours and opportunities to provide your feedback to the facilitators of the study. You can find a full list of dates and times on the Forever North Facebook page.
