Community feedback is key
Though Facilities Management is responsible for drawing up the plan, its success will be dependent on gathering both expert and community feedback. Assisting in that process is the multidisciplinary firm Provencher_Roy. Along with Concordia planners, it has undertaken a thorough review of all buildings and grounds to better understand how spaces currently serve those who use them.
"An exercise of this magnitude will have a significant impact on the Concordia community as well as on the surrounding neighbourhoods," says Julie Bergeron, urban planner at Provencher_Roy.
"It is essential that communities embrace the vision and that it be shared and collectively endorsed. We need to engage throughout the process in creative, progressive and productive ways to allow for involvement to take place, particularly in a time of pandemic."
The Campus Master Plan exercise will focus consultations along nine broad themes:
- Campus density
- Sustainability
- Mobility and transport
- Campus–city interface
- Heritage
- Inclusion and accessibility
- Health and wellness
- Social acceptability and community
- Public domain
Some themes are being addressed in meetings and ideation sessions. Others allow for less time-constrained feedback. To simplify that process, Facilities Management is piloting a new engagement platform, open to everyone. It allows Concordians and external parties to submit ideas and comments from wherever they currently are in the world.
“The platform we’re testing is used by many municipalities in Europe and North America for processes like our master plan exercise. It comes with privacy safeguards as well as flexible tools,” Dumont explains.
A first round of broad consultations is taking place from mid-May to the end of June 2021. During that time, people can post suggestions and comment on those of others. There are currently two main ways to do that: the ideas wall or through pins on a map.
Both can also include photos to help illustrate points. Participants can endorse or disagree with ideas with the click of a button or by adding comments. In the following months, more activities will be launched, seeking more feedback from the community.
To engage on the platform, users need to create an account as a means of accountability. Having some basic information about contributors will also allow the project team to get a sense of reach, to understand if they need to do more to inform people of the project and have the opportunity to provide feedback.
Those who do not wish to complete the mandatory name and email fields can still read the suggestions of others and find information about the process; they just won’t be able to comment or propose ideas.
“We are very excited to be collaborating with diverse groups in this process – one that will be instrumental for the future of Concordia and its place within our city,” says Lavoie. “We want as many voices as possible helping us form our long-term vision for the campuses.”
To learn more about the new Concordia Campus Master Plan visit the engagement platform or read more on the concordia.ca web page.