At Engage FORA, we know that design is better with diverse perspectives at the table.
/ MISSION
Our work is to facilitate thoughtful conversations and craft meaningful design activities centered on identifying community-rooted values. We curate a restorative process where community members feel genuinely empowered in helping to shape the places they call home.
// VISION
Community engagement helps uncover hyper-local and hyper-relevant insights into a community’s unique cultures, context, and values. These insights are invaluable, as they help us create spaces that reflect local priorities, compliment the character of place, and genuinely serve people.
/// VALUES
We engage for many reasons. Here are just a few of them:
To amplify diverse voices & celebrate hyperlocal knowledge
To encourage empathy-building among
To promote equity & justice through meaningful, inclusive processes
To resist the commodification of housing
To extend building lifetimes - because designs that are loved, last
To get quality housing built faster
Because buildings are more than just objects
Engaging is a continual and evolving process
Early Design Workshops, Focus Groups, Surveys, Interviews, Pop-up events, Post-occupancy Evaluations, Property Tours, Future Resident Engagement, Construction & Timeline Updates, Website creation & Management, Event Recruitment, & more!
The best time to engage is now, and always! We provide a holistic spectrum of services for every stage of a project’s life, so we can continuously learn and improve the designs of current and future projects.
ENGAGE Before / Design is better with diverse perspectives at the table. By engaging before designing, we can get a deep sense of a community’s values and provide meaningful opportunities for the design to respond to those values.
ENGAGE During // Change can be an intimidating process. By engaging during the construction process, we can ease a lot of unknowns for both project neighbors and future building residents.
ENGAGE After /// There is much to learn from a building after it’s been lived in. At Engage FORA, we go beyond the traditional metrics of Post-occupancy Evaluations to analyze if the design contributes positively to the well-being of residents and is responsive to the community's needs.
