1. Understand the Community Landscape

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At a Glance: In this section, you will learn how to explore your city’s story, recognize its strengths, and understand the needs of those who live there. You’ll see how to partner with residents, build on existing efforts, and design solutions that reflect your community’s identity. These steps help you create service that feels authentic, inclusive, and lasting.

Why It Matters

Before launching new initiatives, take time to understand the place you serve. Every community has its own history, culture, and rhythms of service. When leaders listen and learn first, their work feels genuine and connected to local life. Service that grows from a community’s own story becomes more than a project. It becomes part of the community’s character.

🛠️ Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Learn from Your City’s Story

Every community has moments when people pulled together. Discovering those moments helps you understand what unites residents and what has tested their trust.

Where to start:

• Review archives, newspapers, and records of past projects.
• Talk with long-time residents, journalists, and faith or civic leaders who remember meaningful efforts.
• Notice examples of unity such as neighborhood cleanups, cultural festivals, or emergency responses, and reflect on what made them work.
• Acknowledge moments when trust or participation faded and why.

Who to talk to:

• Long-time residents and retired city officials
• Members of historical societies and local journalists
• Leaders of faith, nonprofit, and neighborhood groups

 

2. Assess Community Needs and Assets

A strong community assessment blends data with dialogue.

How to do it:

• Distribute short surveys online and in public places (libraries, schools, community centers).
• Host focus groups or “community conversations” in familiar spaces like parks, churches, or coffee shops to hear residents’ priorities firsthand.
• Gather data on demographics, health indicators, and local service gaps using public dashboards or census data.
• Compare findings to identify both pressing needs and underused community assets.

Tool: Create a Needs and Assets Matrix. On one side, list challenges such as food insecurity or youth isolation. On the other, list existing resources like food banks, mentoring programs, and local businesses that could help. This helps align future initiatives with what already exists.

✅ Example: 
In San Bernardino County, California, the Department of Public Health and California State University, San Bernardino partnered on a series of Community Listening Sessions for the 2023–2024 Community Health Assessment. Residents identified youth mental health and access to after-school programs as top priorities. Their input led to new partnerships between schools, nonprofits, and behavioral-health providers that expanded outreach and support. Learn More.

 

3. Map Key Stakeholders and Current Efforts

Before starting new projects, identify who’s already leading in the space. Many efforts are already underway and can be strengthened through coordination.

How to do it:

• List key community organizations, businesses, schools, and faith-based partners.
• Note what each group contributes, such as volunteers, funding, facilities, or expertise.
• Create a visual map to show existing relationships and possible collaborations.

🔗 Once you’ve identified stakeholders, consider forming a working group or community council. See Section 3 Build Partnerships and Collaborative Councils for guidance.

 

4. Design With, Not for, the Community 

A human-centered design approach invites neighbors to identify challenges, create ideas, and guide each step of implementation. Communities thrive when residents help shape the solutions that affect them.

How to do it:

• Hold open design workshops where residents share their experiences and suggestions.
• Use empathy maps or “journey stories” to understand daily realities.
• Pilot small projects, gather feedback, and make adjustments along the way.

Practical tips:

• Offer translation, childcare, and/or food to make participation an easier choice.
• Rotate meeting locations so more voices can be heard. 

✅ Example: 
In Detroit, Michigan, residents were invited to reimagine vacant lots through the Greenprint Detroit initiative. Working alongside the Detroit Land Bank Authority and local partners, neighbors sketched ideas for transforming unused spaces into community gardens and urban farms. When their designs were selected, residents helped implement and maintain the gardens themselves, turning once-vacant land into places of connection and neighborhood pride. Learn More.

🧭 Apply What You Learn

• Build on trusted relationships and formats that already work.
• Avoid repeating barriers such as poor communication or limited follow-through.
• Celebrate your community’s story and the people who shaped it.
• Use data and resident stories together to guide future action.

📚 Recommended Tools & Resources

• City Leader Guide on Civic Engagement (pp 14-19, 35-41) - Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative 
• The Nuts & Bolts of Community Needs Assessment - University of New Hampshire
• SWOT Analysis: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats - University of Kansas, Community Toolbox
• Identifying and Analyzing Stakeholders and Their Interests - University of Kansas, Community Toolbox
• Human-Centered Design and Civic Engagement - National Civic League

(See Appendix of Additional Resources for more).

Closing Note

A good plan gives a community direction it can trust. It keeps everyone focused on shared goals and helps progress stay visible. As you use and adapt it, your plan will become a reflection of how your community learns and builds together.