What’s missing from MAPS-Mini? What did you keep wanting to report but didn’t find on the survey tool?

We felt that the MAPS mini was useful in general, but was lacking questions about the safety of the street as a whole. By implementing more questions from the perspective of a pedestrian, we could plan the landscape in order to enhance the pedestrian experience through aesthetic and safety appeals. In addition, we believe that the survey did not focus enough on the safety of bicyclists, despite Scott Ulrich’s (Healthy Places Coordinator) constant emphasis on the importance of biking, especially within our university’s campus.

For our group, we thought that this picture effectively portrays the lack of awareness for pedestrians as well as cyclists along W Norwich.

Did you find public realm mattered more or less to you than private realm? Why?

Planned Neighborhood believes that the public realm takes precedent over the private realm. If a planner turns most of their focus towards the public realm, then community members will be more inclined to the take care of their private realm. Because most people take pride in where they live, their community’s safety and appeal will be maintained, which subsequently pushes the community members to upkeep the private realm. Ultimately, the effort to maintain both the public and private realm contributes to creating a safer and cleaner community.

What issues do you think would be more important to community members as opposed to planners?

Essentially, a planner holds the responsibility of being the voice of the people that he or she serves. Because of this, it is hard to distinguish whose concern (the community members or the planners) is more important. A talented planner will listen to the concerns and opinions of the community and consequently implement those concerns into the landscape of the community.

A symbiotic relationship between a planner and the community members is essential in designing a safe and effective community.