Uniquely East Side Festival: September 9, 2023

As part of our engagement efforts for PPCC’s District Plan, we hosted five booths/tables at the Uniquely East Side Festival held on Payne Avenue on Saturday, September 9, 2023. Each booth had a primary topic and theme based on those topics that gathered the most community feedback in previous events:  Business, Housing, Transportation, Open Space, and Natural Resources.  These five booths were scattered throughout the Uniquely East Side festival – each one led by a group of Board Members, volunteers, and local community artists.  For each booth or table, PPCC posted main themes from what we’d heard from community so far in our engagement process.  Each booth or table had a series of activities, conversation starters, and long-hand questionnaires, and visual quality surveys.  These tools allowed us to reflect back what PPCC has learned so far and to deepen and expand our understanding of community ideas and feedback related to these major themes.

Housing: We heard you ask for… PPCC-UES-We Heard-Housing

  • Safe, affordable, accessible housing for everyone
  • Ensure affordability to sustain people who already live in Payne-Phalen
  • Greater equity: Bigger benefits from our financial and emotional investments
  • More choice: Create options that respect how different ethnicities create households and how different cultures think of “home”
  • More built-in support: Cooperative kitchens, communal childcare/eldercare, carshare, community space

Business: We heard you ask for… PPCC-UES-We Heard-Business

  • Small businesses, nonprofits, and associations are key to generational wealth-building
  • Build community control and self-determination by developing support systems for small businesses
  • Support ways to create sustainable jobs, higher pay, and benefits
  • Support education, job training, and apprenticeships
  • More venues to showcase local artists; more entertainment venues

Public Space: We heard you ask for… PPCC-UES-We Heard-PubSpace

  • Plazas, pocket parks, and gathering spaces
  • Access to shade and greenery, especially along commercial corridors
  • Active public spaces that bring together diverse communities
  • Outdoor workspace and meeting space
  • More public art/expressions of community identity

Transportation: We heard you ask for… PPCC-UES-We Heard-Transp

  • Improved walkability
  • More frequent, reliable, and convenient transit
  • Better access to public transportation options
  • Less reliance on personal car ownership
  • Safe access to schools, businesses, and libraries

Natural Resources: We heard you ask for… PPCC-UES-We Heard-NatResources

  • More green space with paths, trails, and walkways
  • Better access to creeks, streams, and clean water
  • Better regulation of toxic air pollution
  • More carsharing, solar, less gas stations, buildings with windows that open
  • Teach children to honor and respect nature. Adults too!

Long-hand Questionnaires:
Questionaire-UES Housing-final
Questionaire-UES Business-final
Questionaire-UES Public Space-final
Questionaire-UES Transportation-final
Questionaire-UES Natural Resources-final