Community visioning
Introduction
As a key component in the placemaking process, the Atlas team solicited public feedback from community members through online surveys, virtual visioning sessions, and stakeholder interviews.
The goal of these input sessions was to identify unique local assets and how they could be capitalized, provide insight on local challenges, and give feedback on the types of projects and amenities desired in town.
Some of the key findings included strong, competitive schools including the Edinboro University and General McLane School District, the Edinboro Lake and its tourism pull, and the distinct four seasons of the community. The top challenges identified were the need for more and affordable housing, a more vibrant and attractive downtown, and signage, art and overall plan for defining the place of Edinboro.
Key Findings
Strengths
- University
- Competitive schools
- Lake
- 4 very distinct seasons
Challenges
- Town/gown relationship
- More + affordable housing
- More vibrant downtown
- Need clinic/hospital
Key Findings - What's Missing?
The input sessions further dug into a series of questions such as ‘what’s missing?’ and more specific to what residents would like to see regarding downtown, public art, housing, branding and identity.
- Trails (walking + biking)
- Arts & Cultural amenities and events
- Entertainment options/hangouts
- Signage
- Town/Gown relationship
- Dining options /coffee
- Cool jobs
- Retail
- Diversity
- Housing
- Downtown, 2nd story living
- Affordable Single-family
- Short term lodging
Edinboro Placemaking Goals
Informed by input from the visioning in phase I, qualitative and quantitative research, interviews, and guidance from the Steering Committee, the Atlas team identified the following place specific goals and desired outcomes for the Edinboro placemaking projects.
- Define and create a more vibrant town center
- Create a more walkable/bikeable community
- Capitalize on the lake + university
- Introduce more housing options
- Expand tourism strategy
Check out the full visioning results
The complete visioning results are password protected and available here.