Housing, Density & Design Community Engagement Tools

Communities often grapple with difficult conversations about housing, with few resources for making these conversations feel accessible and unifying. To address this gap ABAG partnered with CPC to design a new suite of engagement tools for facilitating meaningful community conversations. CPC worked with staff from Bay Area cities to create engagement materials that thoughtfully center community members of all ages and backgrounds, neighborhood experiences, and shared housing needs. Through joyful visuals and photography, these tools tap into shared experiences and the connection we feel to our neighborhoods and homes

Two presentation templates, Making Housing Happen and Making Density Work, outline concepts related to density and housing:

• Making complex planning concepts relatable to audiences;

• Connecting community values with the need for new homes;

• Introducing density as a tool for creating more housing choices;

• Differentiating building bulk from housing density; and,

• Addressing myths about density and community impacts.

Two additional slide decks present interactive engagement activities: Guess the Density provides real-world images and numbers to show that density and design are interlinked, and Housing Choices for a Better Future facilitates a values-based conversation about the types of housing that communities need. Resources also include a library of photos, icons, and illustrations, and a User Guide that explores opportunities for local staff to make community conversations more accessible and relatable. These resources are approachable, adaptive, joyful, and personable, providing a unique entry into critical conversations about housing and planning,