Case Study: Preservation of Affordable Housing achieves community buy-in and zoning approval for an eco-friendly affordable housing project with coUrbanize

Ensuring Community Buy In for an Eco-Friendly Affordable Housing Project

Preservation of Affordable Housing (POAH) was selected to develop a Passive House–certified affordable housing and neighborhood retail project on city-owned land in Chicago’s Garfield Park. After a competition with limited public input and with COVID-19 halting in-person meetings, POAH needed a fast, easy virtual solution to demystify the building’s climate-focused features and secure community buy-in, so they turned to coUrbanize and its community engagement website.

Using coUrbanize’s platform, POAH launched virtual engagement in June 2020—sharing renderings, interactive questions and hosting virtual meetings—to collect feedback, pivot designs, and recruit appropriate retail (including healthy food options). The effort generated 736 comments, 4,715 users and 6,411 sessions with 47% positive sentiment, and after 15 months of engagement the Chicago Plan Commission approved zoning in November 2021; POAH credits coUrbanize with broadening outreach, building trust and organizing engagement records for the city.

Preservation of Affordable Housing

Molly Ekerdt

Vice President