Flex Streets Initiative Community Survey
Overview
co:census partnered with the City of Oakland to conduct a comprehensive survey of residents' experiences with sidewalks, parking lanes, and streets. This survey aimed to gather insights into how the Flex Streets Initiative—which allows local businesses to use public rights-of-way, including sidewalks and parking lanes—impacts residents' daily lives. The initiative was introduced to support business recovery mid-pandemic, making it critical to understand how these changes affect both community members and local businesses.
Key Achievements:
Resident Engagement: Engaged a diverse cross-section of Oakland residents to provide feedback on public space usage.
Data-Driven Insights: Delivered actionable insights that helped the city address concerns and improve the initiative.
Community Voices: Ensured underrepresented voices were included in decisions shaping the future of Oakland’s public spaces.
co:census Strategy
Our public engagement strategy focused on ensuring equitable participation from all Oakland residents, particularly those in marginalized communities who are often underrepresented in city planning discussions. co:census utilized SMS outreach, community partners, and online platforms to distribute the survey widely across Oakland, with emphasis on accessibility and inclusivity. The survey was made available in multiple languages, including English, Spanish, and Simplified Chinese, to reflect the diversity of the population.
Our tools allowed for real-time data collection, which informed Oakland's decisions in a timely and accurate manner. This engagement led to a better understanding of residents’ concerns regarding safety, accessibility, and the overall effectiveness of the Flex Streets Initiative.
Cultural Competency
co:census embedded cultural competency into every phase of the project, ensuring we met the diverse needs of Oakland’s residents. The public engagement plan emphasized linguistic diversity, regional outreach, and equitable access to ensure that Oakland's traditionally underserved communities could participate fully in the survey process.
We prioritized areas with higher concentrations of historically marginalized communities and partnered with local organizations trusted by these groups. Our goal was to create an inclusive dialogue that allowed everyone to feel heard, regardless of language, income, or geographic location.
Flier designed by the City of Oakland.
Flier designed by the City of Oakland.
Innovation
Our innovative use of technology was key to capturing comprehensive feedback. co:census utilized a proprietary dashboard to collect, analyze, and visualize data in real-time. The system allowed the city to track response rates, analyze sentiments, and filter feedback based on language or geographic area.
Survey Responses: Collected over 1,200 responses with a high engagement rate of 75%.
Multilingual Response Analysis: Survey responses came in 3 languages: English (70%), Spanish (20%), and Mandarin (10%).
Interactive Data Visualizations: Our dashboard featured heat maps highlighting areas of high concern, sentiment analysis charts, and word clouds identifying common concerns and solutions.
Outcomes
Achievements:
Community Impact: The survey provided Oakland residents a platform to express concerns about accessibility, particularly for those with mobility issues, and safety in pedestrian areas.
Support for Small Businesses: Feedback revealed that the Flex Streets Initiative is a positive step for local businesses, though challenges with parking access remain.
Policy Recommendations: co:census provided the City of Oakland with targeted recommendations to improve the initiative, including better traffic management and improved access for people with disabilities.
Appendices and References
Documentation:
