In our first formal partnership with designer and planner Peter Fraser, we spent the better part of four months co-creating a community vision plan with the residents of the Greater Fultoncommunity in Richmond’s East End.
The draft plan – which was completed at the end of December – was largely built around the community’s strong neighborhood fabric, unique topography, rich history and solid recreational infrastructure. The plan was built by several hundred Fulton residents, who contributed their best ideas and perspectives along the way.
Over the next several months, work teams of neighborhood residents will be partnering with government and nonprofit stakeholders to prioritize initiatives, and to develop funding and implementation strategies. At that point, our team will briefly come back into the picture to transform the initial draft document into a
final vision plan for the community.
The community vision initiative was funded by Virginia LISC and organized by the amazing team at Fulton’s Neighborhood Resource Center. The grassroots
nature of the project allowed us to give voice to a wide variety of residents, and to create some unique partnerships between the Fulton community and a number of Richmond-based organizations.
Certainly, the best part of the Fulton project has been the people. In addition to working with a new team of contributors, I have had the chance to engage with
communities of people I never would have met – from the amazing leaders at the global Christian organization Youth With A Mission to the life-long residents of Fulton who continue to hammer away for the return to a vibrant neighborhood.
We may be finished with Fulton’s plan, but Peter and I both know that we’re going to stick around to see the residents cross the finish line.