Tempe Public Art Plan
Tempe, Arizona
WHY
Tempe Public Art has grown significantly over nearly four decades, especially during a recent period of rapid city and regional development. Increased growth has brought more funding, expanded staff, and renewed public interest in integrating art into urban design and everyday life. As a result of this momentum, the City of Tempe is now poised to articulate a forward-looking vision for its public art program. A planning process was launched to engage the community, shape an aspirational vision for the program’s future, guide project decision-making and prioritization, and formalize policies and procedures.
HOW
Working alongside the Tempe Public Art team, Designing Local conducted an extensive public engagement process, offering more than 30 opportunities for involvement and engaging over 1,000 community members through both virtual and in-person methods such as surveys, meetings, focus groups, and public events. Community feedback emphasized creating a collection that reflects Tempe’s identity, supports local artists, promotes equitable access to resources and artwork, and incorporates interactive, diverse, and engaging art into everyday life.
WHAT
As Tempe Public Art enters a new phase of growth, its future vision builds on the program’s existing strengths while charting an inspirational path forward, shaped by input from community members, stakeholders, and staff. This plan will help to ensure long-term sustainability, increase innovation and impact, and maintain high-quality art citywide. Critical strategies include strengthening Tempe’s sense of place through public art in civic spaces and facilities, ensuring equitable geographic distribution, advancing signature projects, formalizing procedures, improving the Art in Private Development (AIPD) program, and enhancing collection management to maintain a robust, lasting public art collection.
Vacaville Arts & Culture Master Plan
Vacaville, California
WHY
The Vacaville Arts & Culture Master Plan was developed through a comprehensive and highly collaborative process led by Designing Local, structured around four key phases: Discovery, Community Engagement, Synthesis, and Plan creation.
HOW
The success of the plan was the extensive outreach that was completed, which actively involved residents, local creatives, and arts organizations from every corner of the city. A major component of this phase was the “Weaving Our Future” art project, featuring workshops held in each of Vacaville’s districts, where community members shared their aspirations for public art and cultural engagement through words, drawings, and shapes. This hands-on, community-driven approach was critical to building consensus and ensuring the final plan reflected the diverse voices and visions of Vacaville’s population.
WHAT
The final Plan provides a focused, five-year strategic roadmap for the City’s commitment to arts and culture, establishing foundational policies, a clear vision for cultural growth, and a streamlined approach to public art integration. Key tangible outcomes include the comprehensive Arts and Culture Master Plan document, accompanied by a Draft Public Art Program Policy and a Draft Arts Advisory Committee Policy. Together, these deliverables define the infrastructure for the City to enhance quality of life, strengthen local economic development, and cultivate a truly culturally rich and attractive community for both residents and visitors alike.
Brunswick Parks & Recreation Master Plan
Brunswick, Ohio
WHY
When the City of Brunswick, Ohio emerged from a period of financial hardship to resume investing in community amenities, fiscally conservative city leaders wanted to ensure these investments would target their constituents' highest priorities. Their goal with the city's first-ever Parks & Recreation Master Plan was to understand what community members wanted from their parks system and develop a responsible, measured approach to delivering it.
HOW
To ascertain Brunswick residents' parks-related needs and preferences, Designing Local conducted 17 stakeholder interviews, held 2 open house events, and offered an online survey to which almost 1,400 responded. Zec Eight Insights was enlisted in the planning process to conduct a benchmarking analysis that compared Brunswick's parks system with others of a similar size nationwide; Envision Group prepared a fiscal analysis and implementation plan to facilitate each recommendation.
WHAT
Brunswick's City Council discussed the plan in early 2025; at the same meeting, they recommended dedicating $1.2 million from the city budget to implement its recommendations.