The Columbus Downtown 2030 Strategic Plan will guide the City of Columbus’s Redevelopment Commission in defining goals for activation, acquisition, and placemaking downtown. Storyboard is providing community engagement support to the design firm Sasaki throughout the Plan’s development. At the Needs Assessment stage, Phase 2, of the planning process, Storyboard collected input from residents about their “wish list for downtown Columbus” at several holiday-themed events including A Not-So-Silent Night and the Festival of Lights. We collected over 100 wish lists with unique suggestions for the future of downtown. To wrap up Phase 2, Sasaki hosted a Community Workshop with over 300 attendees. Storyboard supported the event with breakout group facilitation and documentation. Looking ahead, Storyboard will host additional pop-up engagement events for the plan, along with several small-group conversations about local needs, to support Sasaki’s work in Columbus.

Photos 1 and 2 by Hadley Fruits, Landmark Columbus Foundation