Quality Communities Retreats

This fall, we hosted a new program called the Quality Communities Retreat sponsored by the Mayors’ Institute on City Design and Oklahoma Municipal League. Between two retreat sessions, we gathered representatives from eight Oklahoma communities, along with a resource team of eight Oklahoma professionals with experience in planning, design, and placemaking. Communities applied to work with IQC through our annual Request for Proposals in the spring, supported by the Oklahoma Municipal League, and the format for the retreats was based on our experience hosting the Mayors’ Institute on City Design in 2019.

Held in two sessions, each retreat was a cohort of four community delegations attending a one-day retreat to gain project-specific advice from a panel of four resource team professionals. Due to COVID-19, the first retreat was held in a hybrid virtual/in-person format, but the second retreat was held fully online because of worsening COVID statistics.

In the weeks prior to the retreat, the IQC team met the community delegation for on-site meetings and tours. During these meetings, the IQC Team ascertained relevant details of the proposed projects to bring forward to the retreat, took photographs, made observations, and collected other relevant data. After the site visits, the IQC Team developed a narrative case study and discussion questions for each community’s project site, supported by photos and graphics, and compiled them in a session briefing book.

During each one-day retreat, four Community Delegations joined creative forces with the IQC team and a resource team of interdisciplinary planning and design professionals. The retreats featured a facilitated session focusing on each community, during which the participants offered project-specific advice, best practices, examples, and conceptual guidance. The IQC team is following up with a meeting summary that covers key takeaways from the discussion on each community project, including sketches, diagrams, maps, photographs, and renderings that illustrate discussion points.

Special Thanks to Sponsors

Oklahoma Municipal League

Funding to support the participation of OML-member cities Davis, Edmond, Langston, Midwest City, Okemah, Oklahoma City, and Sand Springs was provided by the Oklahoma Municipal League. OML is the authoritative source of information, training, and resources on effective local government, and is recognized as the respected voice of Oklahoma municipalities in the state.

Resource Team

Bret Betnar, Adjunct Assistant Professor, Division of Landscape Architecture, OU Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture

Paulina Baeza, Senior Planner & Strategic Planner, Tulsa Planning Office at Indian Nations Council of Governments

Shawn Schaefer, Director of Tulsa Urban Design Studio at OU-Tulsa

Stacy Tomas, Assistant Professor in School of Hospitality and Tourism Management, Oklahoma State University

Community Delegates

Asian District of Oklahoma City

• Ryan McMullen, Placemaking Chair of Asian District Cultural Association

• Jenny Nguyen, Marketing Chair of Asian District Cultural Association

• Thuan Nguyen, President of Asian District Cultural Association

• Nathan Cao, Board Member of Asian District Cultural Association

Edmond

• Folasayo Salami, City Planner

• Cinda Covel, City Clerk and Art Liaison

• Danny Marx, Downtown Business Owner

Eufaula

• Jacob Foos, City Manager

• Pam Rossi, Executive Director of Eufaula Area Chamber of Commerce

• Adam White, Tourism & Economic Development Director

Sand Springs

• Brad Bates, City Planner

• Grant Gerondale, Community Development Director

• Beau Wilson, City Councilmember

IQC Graduate Assistant Team

IQC Graduate Assistants led the preparation and facilitation of the two retreat sessions:

• Alice Calmon, Landscape Architecture
• Bethany Grissom, Landscape Architecture
• Mumuchhu Gurung, Regional & City Planning
• Matthew Kessler, Landscape Architecture
• Naoki Tsuruta, Regional & City Planning