Design your strategy
A good consultation exercise will have already given you the basics for a strategy. You know what people want in their urban environment, and (ideally) how they want you to measure whether it’s happening.
Now it’s time to put things together: design the strategy that draws together what council and community can do to help create a liveable urban environment.
The essential elements of a well-designed strategy are:
- a clear vision and strategic direction
- coordination within and outside council
- a mix of management methods
- community involvement
- clear documentation.
A well-designed strategy will be diverse, coordinated, and easy to measure. It will also be realistic, based on the time and resources available, while reflecting what most people in the community want.
Have a clear timeframe in mind. Will your strategy be ongoing, or do you aim to have achieved it within a specific timeframe? Your timeframe can be flexible – but setting one now will help you plan resources and coordinate activities.
Reference material
Following
its five-day charette, Waitakere City Council developed a diverse, coordinated
strategy to achieve the outcomes in its Community Plan. The strategy included:
- seminars for people interested in land development
- a council-formed property development company to ‘lead by example’
- assistance for residents at the early stages of applying for resource consent
- dedicated ‘pathway’ leaders to coordinate the strategy
- flexibility in its District Plan and non-statutory design guides.
