East Boulder Subcommunity Plan
In early 2019, City Council directed city staff to begin subcommunity planning work. The East Boulder subcommunity was selected because of the high rate of change that’s currently taking place there. The East Boulder subcommunity area is marked by Foothills Parkway to the west, Boulder Municipal Airport to the north, 63rd Street to the east and Arapahoe Avenue to the south. East Boulder is one of the city's top employment centers, and is home to many businesses, urban parks, recycling centers, and arts and cultural organizations.
GUB's Role in the Planning Process
In Fall 2019, GUB conducted Phase Two participatory planning engagements with three groups within the East Boulder Subcommunity catchment area: second grade students who attend Eisenhower Elementary School, child, teen and parent residents in the San Lazaro Manufactured Home Community, and adolescent members of a bird-banding club at Thorne Nature Experience.
Phase Two engagements provide stakeholders the opportunity and freedom to be visionary about the future of the EBSP; Phase two asks the question,“Who do we want to be?” Students from all three groups, ages 4-18, participated in individualized, GUB-led engagements ranging from one 2-hour session to four 1-hour sessions over the span of one month. All students were introduced to the East Boulder Subcommunity Plan work through the use of local maps. Student and family worksheets then activated participants’ thinking about how they currently use East Boulder. In addition to identifying their favorite places to keep in East Boulder, students and families considered what aspects of East Boulder felt could be improved, and what was missing and should be added to make East Boulder an even more vibrant community.
Phase Two engagements provide stakeholders the opportunity and freedom to be visionary about the future of the EBSP; Phase two asks the question,“Who do we want to be?” Students from all three groups, ages 4-18, participated in individualized, GUB-led engagements ranging from one 2-hour session to four 1-hour sessions over the span of one month. All students were introduced to the East Boulder Subcommunity Plan work through the use of local maps. Student and family worksheets then activated participants’ thinking about how they currently use East Boulder. In addition to identifying their favorite places to keep in East Boulder, students and families considered what aspects of East Boulder felt could be improved, and what was missing and should be added to make East Boulder an even more vibrant community.