Civic Area Community Engagement Summaries

From October to December 2024, the project team and community connectors conducted the project’s second engagement window to confirm “What We Heard” in the first window and gain feedback on early design ideas for the Civic Area.

During Engagement Window 2, community members were asked to vote for their favorite design diagram and park features and to provide open-ended feedback about the design ideas. This engagement activity will help the project team prioritize which improvements to pursue within the project budget. Throughout this engagement window, the project team reached:

• 1,510 questionnaire respondents
• ~220 respondents to pop-up posters at 5 community locations
• ~100 in-person participants at the library open house event
• ~60 representatives from community organizations
• And collaborated with 7 community connectors to worked to ensure an inclusive engagement process

Below are two diagrams the project team created in response to design ideas heard from the public during Engagement Window 1. The Adventure Loop diagram focuses on active recreation, nature immersion, and unique experiences. The Creekside Social diagram prioritizes flexible, welcoming social spaces that foster community connection and passively engaging with nature. The top 6 most voted-for features from community engagement are circled in each diagram below.

From the Adventure Loop Diagram, the most popular features are Standing Wave, Bandshell with Local Performances, Farmers Market Promenade Loop, Beer Garden, Zip Line, and Library Cafe. From the Creekside Social Diagram the most popular features are Upgraded Bandshell, Farmers Market Culture Loop, Beer Garden, Food Truck Plaza, Boulder Beach, and Creek Walk.

Community members shared an equal enthusiasm for both diagrams, and a blend of the most popular features from each diagram will inform the concept design. The overall most popular features are shown on the infographic below with the top 6 most popular highlighted in red.

Between February and May of 2024, City of Boulder staff, in collaboration with Downtown Community Connectors, implemented 13 engagement events to gain feedback from the community. The engagement process was guided by the seven principles of the Civic Area Park Plan, the Sustainability, Equity and Resiliency Framework (SER), the Engagement Strategic Framework, and Equity-centered Engagement.

Central Questions Posed to the Community Included:

• What do you envision doing in the Civic Area?
• What are your top values and guiding principles that will help inform the Civic Area Phase 2 project?
• What are your top concerns for the Civic Area and future design?
• How would you like to connect to the Civic Area through the Arboretum?

Overview of Engagement Events

• Spanish Speaking Focus Group*
• Equity Focus Group*
• Mapleton HOA (Manufactured Housing Community)*
• Roll and Stroll (People Experiencing Disabilities)*
• Online Questionnaire (Spanish translation provided and demographic information collected)*
• Bridge House (Unhoused Population)*
• Boulder High Art Honors Society*
• Community Organization Meeting (Stakeholders)
• Family Concert and Community Feedback Public Event
• Library Mural Pop-up
• CU Environmental Design Students
• Age Well Centers Mural Pop-up

* Representation of historically excluded groups

The Focus on Equity in Civic Area’s Phase 2 Engagement Process

The SER Framework was used to ensure diverse representation and co-creation in the design and activation of the Civic Area. This equity-centered engagement process was the product of close collaboration between City of Boulder staff, Downtown Community Connectors, and design consultants, guided by the Equity Plan and Instrument.

The process included

• Intentional Focus Groups Formed to Elevate:
  • Racial equity discussions, space activation and place making
  • Universal design and programming feedback with disability equity discussions
  • Youth engagement series on youth space activation and place making
  • Conversations with low-income populations and the unhoused
  • Intergenerational feedback from older adults, college students, teens, and families
• Wide-Reaching Methods of Engagement, Including:
  • Focus group meetings
  • Pop-up idea murals
  • Design proposals from CU Boulder students
  • Boulder High School’s Civic Area Art Gallery
  • Family and community feedback concert
  • Online questionnaire
• Engagement Data, Analysis, and Outcomes that:
  • Elevated voices of historically excluded communities, especially a need to create a welcoming, inclusive, safe, and connected urban heart
  • Fostered community support for the next phase of design
  • Highlighted top priorities for the Civic Area, according to community members

Summary of Community Feedback from Window 1 Engagement

• Civic Area Phase 2 Project