January | 2015 | Southfield Downtown Development Authority

Site offers the community an opportunity to have their voices heard regarding the future of Southfield

(SOUTHFIELD, Mich.) – The city of Southfield will launch a new community engagement Web site, Sustainable Southfield, on January 22 where citizens can connect, communicate and collaborate with community decision makers and other residents about the future Southfield from the comfort of their home. To join in the discussion, simply logon to sustainablesouthfield.mindmixer.com, create your account and begin participating.

“We are excited to offer the community a convenient new tool to connect with city leaders on a variety of topics,” commented City Planner Terry Croad. “The Sustainable Southfield site will allow the community to provide feedback and input that will be used in future planning and developments efforts, as well as incorporated into the City’s new Master Plan.”

In 2014, the City Council authorized the City Planner to update the Southfield Comprehensive Master Plan (last Adopted April 2009) in accordance with state law. One goal of the Master Plan is to reposition the city of Southfield to be a vibrant place to work, play and live to meet changing demographic, housing and economic shifts in the near and distant future. Sustainable Southfield is a comprehensive master plan that will establish a holistic guide for the City’s future land use as well as balancing the City’s social, environmental and economic needs for now and the future.

The goal of the new Web site is to get the community involved in the planning process. Along the way, Sustainable Southfield, will be used as an online tool to generate new ideas and feedback from citizens using this interactive and accessible platform. Feedback from the Web site will be used by the city of Southfield to develop plans on a variety of projects, particularly the City’s updated Master Plan.

Sustainable Southfield gives contributors a chance to share new ideas, support others’ ideas, expand upon existing ideas and give feedback on initiatives, working with community leaders on a variety of topics online anytime, anywhere.

A total of 20 different topics that will change every 1-2 weeks will be presented over a five month period. The discussion will begin with topics like these, and branch off from there based upon input:

“What are the most important issues facing our community?”
“How can we create a more connected Southfield?”
“What makes a community sustainable?”

The site also measures and tracks participation, identifying the most interested citizens and most compelling topics. MindMixer’s tools make it easy for administrations to communicate back with citizens, and they deliver measurable results and invaluable insights for the planning process.

As part of its service, MindMixer consults and collaborates with clients to identify issues that are critical to stakeholders in order to update topics and content for their Web sites.

For more information, call the Southfield Planning Department at (248) 796-4150 or visit www.cityofsouthfield.com.