The City of Peoria has long dedicated itself to providing its residents with an excellent standard of living, which is reflected in its general planning documents, including its Sustainability Action Plan and Livability Initiatives. As a growing community, continuing to engage residents with its planning and information sharing is pertinent to maintaining its livability. Continually engaging with the public is essential for any municipality, and community engagement strategies seek to engage its residents in planning processes.
Given the recent shocks to the community with COVID-19, Peoria’s Office of Communication strives to reach all Peoria residents with community activities like public engagement processes, public safety updates, and much more. In order to better communicate with its residents, the City is interested in identifying its “hard-to-reach” residents to design strategies for reaching these populations.
During the fall 2021 semester, three graduate students from Greg Broberg’s JUS 500 Research Methods course created a project plan, which the students from his spring 2022 JUS 301 Research Methods course put into action. Undergraduate students in the School of Social Transformation conducted surveys of Peoria residents to gauge how residents receive information. Through an online community survey and an in-person survey, students analyzed Peoria residents’ perceptions of community services, such as childcare, financial resources, and resource accessibility. Students then crafted recommendations for the City of Peoria to consider in expanding its community engagement efforts and identifying Peoria’s hard-to-reach residents.
The student research intends to provide Peoria with additional ways to communicate with Peoria’s residents. Students recommend expanding PeoriaÕs communication methods, including social media or through a neighborhood app. Additionally, survey results revealed that residents would like expanded community services, such as childcare and financial resources. By expanding its reach to all Peoria residents, the City of Peoria can carefully consider how to engage community members further to inform its planning efforts.