SPRINGFIELD — Indian Orchard is one of the next neighborhoods in Springfield poised to have its own plan that reflects shared priorities for how it wants to invest in its neighborhood.
Before officially formulating that plan, the Indian Orchard Citizens Council is first working with Way Finders and the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission on different strategies to gather community input on what type of investments should be prioritized in Indian Orchard over the next several years.
“What that means is we’re going to be planning a series of meetings, community conversations, opportunities to come together for residents to look at your neighborhood map and actually identify the things you’d like to see in your neighborhood that you want the city to invest in over the course of 10 years,” said Beatrice Dewbury, the community building and engagement director of Way Finders, during the Indian Orchard Citizens Council monthly meeting on Nov. 13.
Two of the upcoming ways in which the council is capturing community feedback is through a survey; where residents can rank where priority investments should be made relating to things like transportation, housing, economic development, food access, arts and culture, energy, public safety and parks and open space; and through the neighborhood’s first engagement opportunity.
The latter will be an event spearheaded by Way Finders on Nov. 23 at 117 Main St. for residents to congregate and start thinking of priorities for investment. Dewbury said food, raffles and gift card giveaways will also be available at the event.
“We’ll do a mapping activity where you’ll actually take a look at your neighborhood map, and you can make a circle and say, ‘hey, I think a youth center would be good here [or] ‘we want more access to our waterways,’” said Dewbury, regarding the engagement event. “[Residents] can give that level of in-depth feedback.”
The survey, which was created with the help of Way Finders and the Indian Orchard Citizens Council, was finalized during the council’s meeting on Nov. 13. It will now be available at the first engagement event on Nov. 23, and the council will aim to spread the survey as widely as possible to Indian Orchard residents.
As for the engagement opportunity on Nov. 23, Dewbury said that event will be the first of many for community engagement in the neighborhood.
“I’m excited about that now,” said Zaida Govan, the president of the Indian Orchard Citizens Council, regarding the Nov. 23 event. “Everybody can come out, have some food, and talk about the mapping of how we want to see things.”
The broader citywide goal
The process of putting together an investment plan for Indian Orchard is part of a broader three-phased approach by Springfield to create investment plans for 12 of its 17 neighborhoods that were disproportionately impacted by COVID-19.
In an effort to “restabilize” these neighborhoods post-pandemic, the city allocated $746,340 of American Rescue Plan Act funding in 2022 to update its Neighborhood Data Atlas and to facilitate the development of investment plans for those neighborhoods.
The Pioneer Valley Planning Commission was hired by the city to manage the project, and PVPC engaged Way Finders to facilitate community engagement with residents, small businesses and local community-based organizations in the plan update process.
“[The investment plans] really offer a roadmap for the city when funding comes in,” Dewbury said. “It helps identify your major investments that you want in the neighborhood.”
According to Dewbury, 10-year investment plans for Bay Area, Maple High/Six Corners, McKnight, Old Hill and Upper Hill have already been reviewed by their respective neighborhood councils and approved by the city as part of the phase one process, while four more neighborhoods; including the North End, South End, and Metro Center; are on the verge of finalizing their own investment plans as phase two.
That means PVPC and Way Finders are just now starting the final phase of this process: neighborhood investment plans for Indian Orchard, Forest Park and Lower Liberty Heights.
According to the PVPC website, Way Finders and PVPC will continue to attend neighborhood council/civic association/citizen council meetings in those final communities over the next few months to survey residents/stakeholders, and to schedule a series of public events and workshops to engage as much of the community as possible before investment plans become official.
So far, Forest Park is the only phase three neighborhood with an investment plan available on the PVPC website.
Readers can learn more about these investment plans by visiting the PVPC website at pvpc.org/spfld-nbhd-plans.
