Case Studies

The Midwest/Tireman neighborhood faced decades of disinvestment, population decline, and deteriorating public infrastructure. Residents lacked a structured mechanism to participate in planning decisions, and city agencies struggled to align capital improvement priorities with the lived experience of those most affected. Bridging that gap required a deliberate, inclusive engagement process capable of surfacing community priorities and translating them into actionable planning outcomes.

The targeted downtown corridor suffered from high crime rates, poor lighting, overgrown and unmanaged landscaping, and minimal natural surveillance. These environmental factors deterred foot traffic, harmed local commerce, and created an unsafe experience for pedestrians and transit riders.

The transit authority lacked real-time ridership data, making it impossible to optimize bus frequency, reduce wait times, or plan capital improvements based on actual usage patterns.

Aging infrastructure and blind spots in the waterfront security perimeter created vulnerabilities. Incident response times were slow due to poor camera coverage and no centralized monitoring.