Specialty Services
Public and Stakeholder Engagement
We are highly skilled at developing and implementing stakeholder and community engagement strategies for a variety of contexts. From small to large, simple to complex, we thrive at right-sizing our engagement framework and approach for each community we work in. We stay on top of the latest trends and technologies, ensuring both in-person and digital outreach strategies that maximize reach and enable all community voices to be heard.
Key services include:
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Engagement strategy: engagement & outreach framework, project branding, equity analysis and tie in
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Project communications: social media content, graphics & branding, newsletters, email campaigns, text message campaigns
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Public meetings & events: community workshops, open houses, charrettes, pop up events, walking tours, tactical urbanism events, intercept surveys
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Virtual meetings: community meetings, coffee chats, office hours
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Interactive input tools: online surveys, map input tools, Miro boards
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Stakeholder meetings: advisory committees, focus groups, interviews, listening sessions, targeted outreach
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​ATLDOT selected Blue Cypress to lead the public engagement task of the project. Blue Cypress implemented an equity centered public and stakeholder engagement framework. The project team accomplished this by offering numerous distinct forums for public involvement, including a project website, online community input map, virtual and in-person community workshops, artist rendering of community stories and vision, and pop-up booths at specific areas throughout the city.
City of Atlanta Vision Zero Action Plan
Blue Cypress led the public and stakeholder engagement for Edge City 2.0. As a part of this role, Blue Cypress designed and managed an interactive project website and has assisted the City with identifying and coalescing a group of stakeholders that represents different business and community interests. Blue Cypress helped carry out unique public meetings and workshops, leveraging creative engagement and outreach tactics to promote participation among portions of the population that do not usually partake in planning processes.
Dunwoody
Edge City 2.0
Blue Cypress led the public engagement task, including communications, stakeholder coordination, and outreach strategies. This role included design and management of an independent study website, development and analysis of a Downtown community survey, coordination of a virtual, two-part charrette, and leading social media and other project promotions. By working closely with Fayetteville’s planning and communications teams, roughly 6 percent of the Fayetteville population participated in a community survey developed and managed by Blue Cypress.
Fayetteville Forward
LCI Study
GIS Analysis and Mapping
Place is essential to community planning. At Blue Cypress, we leverage the latest GIS tools and applications to analyze, visualize, and evaluate spatial patterns for our clients. GIS helps us better understand demographic conditions and community needs to facilitate plans, prioritize strategies, and support implementation tools. Our GIS work elevates everyday planning practices like community engagement, transit propensity, and street safety to justify policies to create a more equitable/inclusive communities.
Blue Cypress lead the sustainable infrastructure element, public and stakeholder engagement, and supporting documentation and GIS analysis. The sustainable infrastructure element primarily covered challenges and priorities related to stormwater, water and sewer infrastructure, and green infrastructure policy. Engagement efforts are being organized around five key planning areas, which each encompasses a variety of community typologies and contexts.
Gwinnett County
2045 Unified Plan
Blue Cypress managed and led all aspects of the River Valley Regional Transit Development Plan, including stakeholder/public engagement, existing conditions and future needs analysis, and implementation planning. For example, Blue Cypress worked with the RVRC to develop and distribute hard copy surveys throughout the 16-county
region, primarily targeting seniors, which ultimately doubled the response rate on the public survey.
River Valley Regional Commission Transit Development Plan
After Macon-Bibb Planning & Zoning Commission (MBPZ) experienced an unexpected departure of their GIS Manager, Blue Cypress Consulting collaborated with another consultant to conduct a high-level review of MBPZ’s GIS platform including spatial layers, 7-databases, infrastructure, and licenses.
Macon Bibb-County
GIS On-Call
Equity
Blue Cypress is committed to using equity analyses to inform engagement approaches. We take the steps to remove participation barriers that some community groups have historically experienced, ensuring more inclusive involvement. By applying equity metrics, we can develop, prioritize, and implement recommendations that lead to more equitable outcomes in our plans.
ATLDOT selected Blue Cypress to lead the public engagement task of the project. Blue Cypress implemented an equity centered public and stakeholder engagement framework. The project team accomplished this by offering numerous distinct forums for public involvement, including a project website, online community input map, virtual and in-person community workshops, artist rendering of community stories and vision, and pop-up booths at specific areas throughout the city.
City of Atlanta Vision Zero Action Plan
Blue Cypress is a part of the multi-year planning support contract for The Stitch, a transformative infrastructure project in the heart of Downtown Atlanta. The Stitch Master Plan was one of the first task orders under the contract. Blue Cypress led the land use, zoning, and affordable housing components of the Master Plan. As a part of this work, Blue Cypress coordinated zoning needs and opportunities with the City of Atlanta Office of Zoning, including its ongoing Zoning 2.0 initiative. Blue Cypress also led the analysis and recommendations for affordable housing goals, policy, and programmatic initiatives.
Atlanta's Stitch
Master Plan
Blue Cypress led the plan update process, including project management, stakeholder and public engagement, implementation planning (with deeper dives into the sustainability and mobility focus areas), and the overall strategy development for a cohesive document. Blue Cypress carried out several engagement strategies to connect with the diverse Brookhaven community. Beyond traditional public meetings, the team also set up pop-up tents to engage with residents at local events with fun and easy participation activities.
Brookhaven Bound for 2044 Comprehensive Plan
Resiliency Planning
Resiliency is at the forefront of how we plan for a better tomorrow. We assess the impacts of proposed actions on the environment, social systems, and through the lens of financial viability. Our team stays abreast of the latest tools and research related to resiliency by actively taking part in related planning forums and undertaking various analyses to facilitate long term resiliency in our client communities. Using data from the federal Justice 40 Initiative, FEMA, EPA, NOAA, and other resources, we identify resiliency gaps and develop strategies to promote watershed protection, expand tree canopies, and enhance water, wastewater, and stormwater management systems, among other critical goals.
Blue Cypress lead the sustainable infrastructure element, public and stakeholder engagement, and supporting documentation and GIS analysis. The sustainable infrastructure element primarily covered challenges and priorities related to stormwater, water and sewer infrastructure, and green infrastructure policy. Engagement efforts are being organized around five key planning areas, which each encompasses a variety of community typologies and contexts.
Gwinnett County
2045 Unified Plan
Blue Cypress supported the project team in the development of the state-wide assessment of the water and sewer infrastructure systems by developing a standard data format for conducting the assessment, data gathering and formatting, and developing data metrics. Blue Cypress also assisted the project team in incorporating the data into the State Strategy for Sustainability. Blue Cypress supported the sustainability forum planning effort including venue research, scheduling, budgeting, coordination, and marketing, including branding and logo creation.
South Carolina Rural Infrastructure Authority
Blue Cypress contributed to the development of KCIA's goal of Net-Zero emissions and wrote a Developing Technologies Memorandum, which detailed the emissions reduction actions taken by KCIA to-date and explored the feasibility of KCIA utilizing developing technologies and industry trends to further reduce emissions. The project identified a path forward for KCIA to potentially achieve Net Zero, which involves selecting further emission reduction measures, identifying and evaluating pathways, defining interim targets, and creating a roadmap and governance plan.
King County International Aiport ACI 2050 Net-Zero Emissions Feasibility Study