McKinley Park Neighborhood Plan

The diversity of McKinley Park’s residents is a major asset to the community. A commitment should be made by MPDC to actively engage all stakeholders and residents in plan implementation activities. The continued growth of McKinley Park’s Asian population will make it essential to target this important demographic in community planning activities for years to come. Best practices and existing resources should be identified to increase community engagement with residents across the entire community. Outreach efforts should include translated materials for existing programs and services.

Work should also build ties with existing institutions, faith-based organizations, community leaders, and other programs that serve these populations. Some ways to engage the neighborhood’s diverse population include:

Youth engagement: Even though 27.5 percent of McKinley Park’s population is youth, community participation by this group was not well represented during the planning process. Engaging youth lends a unique perspective to the implementation of the neighborhood plan. Numerous recommendations in the plan will be more successful if they involve the school-aged population, including forming part of a beautification committee to coordinate community-driven enhancements (Goal: Revitalize Commercial Corridors), and promoting active transportation and healthy living through programs and activities (Goal: Enhance and Expand Parks and Recreational Opportunities). Engaging with local schools (including public and parochial), the McKinley Park Public Library, and the Park District can strengthen the impact and outcome of the plan’s recommendations by directly engaging with youth and their parents.

Immigrant integration: As further indication of the diversity within McKinley Park, nearly 36 percent of its population is foreign born. Throughout the planning process it was difficult to fully engage McKinley Park’s growing Asian population, despite a sincere interest in engaging them. Difficulties ranging from language barriers to different cultural expectations about the role of civic organizations can complicate efforts to connect. Steps should be taken to ensure that foreign-born residents and stakeholders are provided with the same opportunities to engage in community planning activities as other resident groups. The Metropolitan Mayors Caucus (MMC) and CMAP have developed an Immigrant Integration Toolkit that presents a variety of techniques that municipalities have successfully implemented to address integration and to create a culture of inclusion. The toolkit addresses common challenges associated with engaging immigrant populations, such as marginal participation in community meetings, lack of representation on local boards, mistrust of government, and language issues. This toolkit should be utilized to identify relevant case studies that can be implemented successfully.

Make public engagement accessible

A critical component to making public engagement accessible is to make public meetings and materials appropriate for participants. Input should be solicited from leaders and organizations in determining the best models of engagement. MPDC could help mediate this process by serving as a sounding board to assist, guide, and offer input on existing issues and opportunities based on their knowledge, and reviewing outreach strategies and meeting materials. Public meetings for future developments should be broadcast on Facebook Live when possible to provide increased transparency and awareness of new development projects.

Outreach strategies may need to vary depending on which community group engagement is sought. For example, phone calls may be more effective than emails. Radio stations, newspapers, and media outlets that target the specific groups should be utilized.

In addition to the standard practices for engagement, such as choosing meeting sites that are welcoming, safe, and accessible, and selecting dates and times for meetings when more people can participate, the following practices should also be considered:

• Outreach: Ensure that outreach and other meeting materials are available in multiple languages. Mention if there will be translation services available at an event. Social media, such as Twitter or Facebook, is a good way of connecting with people.
• Incentives: Provide small incentives as a way to increase participation. Examples include providing food and childcare, holding raffles for donated items, and recognizing participants. One idea is to ask local restaurants and businesses to donate gift cards to reward participants for their time. This will help encourage public participation while marketing local business.
• Agenda: Create an agenda that reflects the community’s priorities, including those of the Asian and Latino population. Ensure that there is a common understanding about the goals and processes of the meeting.

Improve language access

From "Aquinas Grows Volunteers Brigade with Latest Batch of Trained Tutors," published November 26, 2019, in the McKinley Park News.Improving language access is a critical aspect of integrating McKinley Park’s foreign-born population, and is important from a public safety, civic life, and economic perspective. The following activities are designed to assist immigrants’ ability to access information in a language they understand and the neighborhood’s ability to communicate effectively with residents who speak limited or no English.

Utilize community interpreters and establish a volunteer language bank. Community volunteers are an important and often untapped resource. Local bilingual residents should be invited to serve as volunteers offering language and cultural guidance or informal translation or interpreting services. A good way to connect with potential volunteers is to partner with local faith-based organizations, community-based organizations, and college and university student groups. A partnership should be created with Aquinas Literacy Center to start a dual language community program and offer a certification, including language proficiency assessment and basic training, in order to help ensure and improve the quality of volunteer services. Engaging young people is a great way to get entire families involved in the community. When recruiting interns and volunteers, communities should take advantage of younger residents’ cultural diversity and language abilities.