Gateway 79

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Get In.Field

Project Context

Location: 79th and State Street in Chatham

Scale: 42,375 sq feet, just under one acre.

Construction Type: New construction

Expected use: Mixed-use development

Carter Temple Community Development Corporation is developing a 5-acre parcel of land adjacent to the 79th Street Red Line Station into a mixed-use development. The building will include multi-generational housing and over 14,000 square feet of space for retail and other neighborhood amenities. In alignment with the Greater Chatham Initiative Comprehensive Plan, Gateway 79 aims to revitalize a transit hub and address housing affordability and lack of amenity concerns in the neighborhood.

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In.Practice

In.Practice

!

Grounding
with intention

Community Engagement Aspiration

The development team wanted their community engagement to accomplish three related goals: (1) validate and uncover the needs and aspirations for the desired use of the site from the communities that would be impacted by this project; (2) bring attention to the site, and (3) deepen awareness of Equitable Transit Oriented Development in a neighborhood that had been made car-dependent due to decades of disinvestment.

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How In.Field facilitated community engagement

Carter Temple’s initial community engagement efforts uncovered that the community was voicing a desire for much more than only housing, and that their project could potentially fulfill these needs. The range of uses being voiced included health care, community centers, retail, arts, and more. The team needed a way to make community-informed decisions among the many possible options.

With that in mind, In.Field helped the development team to build upon their existing engagement efforts and have a more structured approach to both generate and evaluate ideas.

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1

Planning
Placemat

Community Engagement Principles

The team reflected upon how their visions and ongoing community engagement practices aligned with the Community Engagement Principles, such as the importance of defining community, and how they  could incorporate other principles that they had not fully considered, such as fostering financial and non-financial ownership on the project with community members.

Planning Placemat

The aspiration statement helped the team align on their similar-yet-slightly-differing aspirations for the project, and it served as the base for iterations as their community engagement produced new insights.

The Fieldwork Plan allowed the team to voice and celebrate all their past accomplishments in community engagement along with all the things they had already learned. This made room for the team to identify more targeted questions that their future community engagement activities would help answer.

The Participation Spectrum along the Fieldwork plan helped the team make narrower groups to engage and to be able to describe them beyond demographics, by also including psychographics, activities, and the role that these stakeholders would have on their project—all the way from those they needed to inform, to those they wanted to empower, to themselves as the development team who would be the owners of the project.

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2

Methods
and Tactics

The team’s go-to methods are: Observations, Surveys, Public Meetings, and Focus Groups

Field Observations

Use of the AEIOU card to record observations across Activities, Environments, Interactions, Objects, and Users.

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Surveys

The Survey Design tactic card and helped the team design a thoughtful and effective survey.

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Public Meetings

The team used tactics like Provocation Warm-up to create more engaging public meetings.

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Focus Groups

The Group Discussions tactics helped the team structure conversations with the identified cohorts they want to learn more from.

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Accessibility & Delight Cards

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These cards helped the team in each of Methos they chose by intentionally making space to build connections, be reflective and prioritize equity.

3

Synthesis Methods

Synthesis Cards

To make sense of all the findings from their engagement, the team used the following synthesis tactics:

Adcept: To communicate their idea succinctly for the audiences they identified in their fieldwork plan. This AdCept speaks to potential renters of Gateway 79 by showing them their role and purpose in the community, the historical significance of the site and neighborhood, and the amenities that they would have access to when Gateway 79 is completed.

Community Composition: By using this card, the team was able to have an internal way to communicate the many stakeholders, assets, needs, and demographics present in the neighborhood and how to continue to engage them through the pre-development and development processes.

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Support Gateway 79

Here are some ways you can surpport Gateway 79:

Stay Informed & Involved
Attend community meetings and public forums to help shape the project’s direction.

Advocate Locally
Contact Alderman William Hall and city leaders to express your support.

Spread the Word
Share Gateway 79’s mission on social media and in your networks.

Partner & Volunteer
Join outreach efforts and community events.

Learn More
Visit cartertemplecommunity.org to explore the vision and get involved.

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Illustration of three raised hands in red, purple, and blue on an orange background.
Three colorful stars with a burst effect on a red background.
Cartoon of three diverse faces inside a triangle on a purple background.
Four connected circles with symbols: heart, triangle, question mark, and light bulb on a red background.
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Support Gateway 79

Get In.Field

Get In.Field

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The Kit 

$85.00

  • 1 In.Field Kit (carrying case 8.5”x12”x1”, instructions, 1 planning placemat, 25 tactics cards, 5 accessibility and delight cards, 5 synthesis cards)

  • Digital kit files

  • Invitation to special events from Duo and Elevated Chicago!

Get In.Field
Learn more
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In.Field   

group trainings

Pricing varies, please contact us to learn more

The value of our training:

  • Tailored half-day interactive workshop for your teams

  • Learn to use the Kit through real-life scenarios and case studies

  • In-depth overview on what went into the design of the kit

  • One kit for each participant

  • Digital kit files

  • Invitation to special events from Duo and Elevated Chicago!

Learn more

Need Accommodations?
Let us know!

Discounted options are available if resources are a constraint for you and/or your organization. Please contact us so we can discuss a plan of action that best fits your needs.

Also available upon request:

  • Special group/bulk order pricing

  • Large font format

  • Translated versions (any language you want!)

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