Today, Jalene and I were given the task of facilitating the class discussion on the revitalization of Alberta Avenue. I was excited when Dr. Summers told us that we would be in charge of the class for the day because I enjoy leading things and getting people to really think through and argue their points. Easier said then done however.
The challenge for the day was for the class to brainstorm revitalization projects or programs for the Alberta Avenue neighborhood with a limited budget of 2.2 million dollars. Dr. Summers separated the class into four groups for the initial brainstorming session and then handed over the reigns to Jalene and I. This is where it got a little bit hard.
The two of us had to develop a plan of action on how we would facilitate the brainstorming session in a way that would lead to the class coming together as one and developing a focused and detailed revitalization plan. This was our plan of attack:
1) Allow the four groups time to brainstorm their ideas on paper
2) Go around to the groups asking them about their ideas, facilitating conversation, and getting them to elaborate on specific ideas
3) Ask each group to write down what they thought the key features of a sustainable commercial area consist of. We wanted the groups to think about this because it was a vital component of the type of revitalization they should be thinking of and we didn't want them to get off topic. We saw it as a way for the groups to orient their ideas and a way for them to evaluate whether specific programs contribute to the development of a sustainable commercial area. The key aspects they came up with were fairly consistent:
4) Once the groups had enough time to brainstorm we brought the class back together to tell us the major programs they had thought of. Jalene and I wrote these ideas down on the board in the front of the class. Some of the ideas they came up with included:
- Doggy water fountains
- Another dog park
- A co-op grocery store
- Artists space
- Programs that would help support smaller local businesses move into the area (eg rent subsidies)
- Needle exchange/drop box program
- Better crosswalks
- Better landscaping
The most popular ideas that came out of this brainstorming session were the needle drop program and the development of doggy infrastructure. These ideas were rather unexpected, however, the class seemed really excited about discussing these two plans.
5). Jalene and I asked the the class to vote on three specific revitalization ideas in order to narrow the conversation down. We decided to do a vote by giving each person three sticky notes and asking them to put their stickers on their topics of choice. We gave each person three choices because we didn't want to force them to work on a plan they didn't support or weren't passionate about. This voting idea didn't end up working as well as we had anticipated. The board just became of mess of sticky notes and there was no was of telling who was interested in what idea. With the help of Dr. Summers, we were able to evaluate which top three ideas seemed to be the most popular and use them as our discussion points. The three ideas that had the most votes were:
- Doggy infrastructure: consisting of things like doggy water fountains, leash tie-ups, dog park, dog agility camps, pop-bad dispensers
- Business policy: rent subsidies to encourage growth of local businesses, developing low cost lease space
- Needle drop boxes
6). As a class we discussed the key features that would be part of each of these three revitalization plans. The most interesting part of this discussion was the slow realization within the class of the complexities that would arise with the needle drop program. The more they talked about it the more they considered the challenges of implementing such a policy. I thought this was a really good exercise because it forced them to consider the feasibility of the program in terms of community and city support and the negative consequences that could arise from an idea that was developed with good intentions.
7). We then asked the class to vote on one revitalization plan to develop in detail as a class. They decided they wanted to develop on the concept of doggy-infrastructure. Interesting. However, they did come up with some very plausible initiatives and managed to incorporate a lot of business and economic related development initiatives, which was a bonus.
I thought that the brainstorming activity was great in that it forced the students to argue the merits of their ideas. I especially liked their conversation about the needle drop program because I was able to see them slowly consider and factor in all the challenges involved and in the end, they themselves decided that it was in fact not a good solution.
It was really tempting to jump in during the discussion and contribute my ideas, but, as a facilitator my role was to encourage the development of their ideas and challenge them to consider their ideas in different ways or from a different perspective. I think Jalene and I got a little flustered trying to arrange the session in a way were the students were able to switch groups. They never ended up moving around but rather switched from individual group brainstorming to a class discussion.
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