Urban Strategies was retained by the District of Saanich to develop a series of in-person workshops and online engagement opportunities to share information about and gather feedback on preliminary land uses, building typologies, transportation and mobility networks, and housing for the Quadra McKenzie Study. This work also included the creation of urban design materials (axonometric sketches, renderings, streetscape sections, maps, and 3d models) to help communicate the proposed urban structure, built form typologies, streetscapes, and transitions between uses in highly graphic and accessible formats.
A series of 4 topic-based, interactive World Cafe style workshops were designed, facilitated and delivered by the Urban Strategies team. This approach allowed members of the public to participate in multiple rounds of topic-based conversation, with each round building off of the previous group’s ideas, questions and concerns. This structure led to more fulsome and generative conversations, allowing participants to better understand the ideas, opportunities, and potential trade-offs as surfaced by their peers. Material development for these sessions included the development of invitation lists, communication and promotion materials, event plans, facilitation guides, display panels, presentation content and graphics, table materials and worksheets, and event report memos. In addition, Urban Strategies developed an online engagement portal for this phase of the Quadra McKenzie Study process, offering 4 different interactive opportunities to engage on each of the four workshop topics – for those unable to attend an in-person workshop. At the culmination of the engagement period, Urban Strategies is providing a detailed engagement summary report, including land use and urban design recommendations.
Key Team Members
Sirous Ghanbarzadeh
