5.0 PRIORITIES + IMPLEMENTATION Long-term Partnerships
Maintaining Links to Key Resources The planning process for the District has successfully engaged a broad range of residents and stakeholder groups. To successfully move forward on the recommendations of this study it is important to continue building positive working relationships with local stakeholders groups such as: • Downtown Indiana BID • PennDOT District 10 • Neighborhood organizations and community based organizations (e.g. Welcome to Indiana) • Local non-profits engaged in community services and redevelopment • Indiana County Transit Authority (IndiGO) • Business focused organizations and private developers • Property owners As initiatives from this study move forward, the community would be well serviced by engaging these groups in the implementation process. Should the District Partners opt to pursue a long-term organizational structure, it would help to broaden the participants, and perhaps include representatives of some of these groups on a board of directors. Together the private and public sector shape the physical setting of our communities and the recommendations of this study recognize the need for a collaborative and balanced approach to development. Often public investment in streetscapes, plazas and parks, and community amenities, independent from private development, can act as a catalyst for subsequent community improvements and private investment. An approach in which the public sector works hand-in-hand with the private sector to invest in public improvements that directly support new development can be an even more effective method.
Engaging the Community Thanks to the energy invested by the District Partners, the District planning process involved an unprecedented number of local residents in the development of the Indiana Community University District Master Plan. This effort has helped hundreds of citizens become informed about planning in the community, many of whom now support the vision and planning ideas that are represented in this report. As community improvement initiatives are pushed forward, the local community should continue to encourage public involvement and sense of ownership in the projects and the greater community.
Indiana Community University District
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