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Achievement in Community Engagement

Each year, the Community Involvement Advisory Committee (CIAC) accepts applications for the Achievement in Community Engagement (ACE) Awards. The ACE Awards recognize excellence in engaging communities in the land use planning process. In 2026, one of five applicants was recognized with an ACE Award for their thoughtful engagement. Clackamas County's new engagement framework is a terrific example of successfully connecting with and gaining feedback from their local community.

2026 ACE Award Recognized Project

Group of seven using random objects to represent their dream city infrastructure

Clackamas County's "Framework for Engagement and Decision-making with Underserved Populations"

This year the committee recognized Clackamas County for establishing a new engagement framework to involve underserved community members in their 2045 Transportation System Plan update. Supported by a DLCD grant, the County Department of Transportation and Development and the Department of Public Heath collaborated to develop engagement recommendations based on the knowledge and connections of community liaisons and supported by data analysis.

Group of six using random objects to represent their dream city infrastructure

The project team then piloted these recommendations through three play-based workshops throughout Clackamas County, which generated feedback in a fun way. In particular, these events emphasized the value of:

  • Utilizing existing community connections,
  • Considering accessibility in event logistics, and
  • Translation and interpretation services.

These events informed the county's "Framework for Engagement and Decision-making with Underserved Populations". This new framework will inform not only the TSP update which began in July 2025, but other long-range planning processes as well.

2026 ACE Applicants

Although the CIAC could not recognize all applicants with an ACE Award, they were very impressed with all projects. The following are more examples of community engagement successes.

As part of their required transportation system plan (TSP) update, the City of Beaverton and a group of community volunteers engaged community members over the summer of 2025. With support from two DLCD grants, the team sought to learn more about where people like to go in Beaverton and where they would like it to feel safer when traveling around the city.

These volunteers consisted of eight “transportation ambassadors” to strengthen the city’s community engagement efforts and build community capacity. Appointed by the city manager, the diverse group of transportation ambassadors received training and compensation to help identify priority populations and underserved communities and lead peer-to-peer conversations in community. The transportation ambassadors helped connect City of Beaverton with underserved communities through their existing relationships with high school youth, Latine and Slavic communities, and others.

With support from city staff, the ambassadors strengthened community relationships by:

  • Leading focus groups
  • A PlaceIt! Workshop
  • Tabling at citywide events
  • Meeting with business owners
  • Attending Neighborhood Association Committee meetings
  • Interviewing friends and neighbors

Beaverton received over 2,800 in-person and online responses to inform the transportation system plan updates. These results will help determine where streets, sidewalks, public transit, and bike facilities will go. The community ambassadors methodology proved so successful that the model is being considered by other city departments for project related work.

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VISION43 is a corridor-scale planning and community visioning effort aimed at creating a long-range vision for land use, transportation safety, mixed-use redevelopment, and pedestrian and bicycle connectivity along the Highway 43 corridor.

The project team engaged the local Community Involvement Program in developing their public engagement plan for VISION43. This plan identified barriers to participation and emphasized inclusive outreach to renters, youth, older adults, local businesses, and underrepresented communities.

Engagement strategies included community events, neighborhood-based discussions, small-group sessions, online surveys and mapping tools, and targeted briefings with key interested parties. Between 2023 and early 2026, the project team conducted more than 40 community engagement events, reaching hundreds of participants.

The city’s pop-up outreach toolkit also made it possible to meet community members where they naturally gather, such as parks, grocery stores, and local events. This expanded participation far beyond the reach of traditional public meetings.

Community feedback informed mixed use zoning concepts, potential design character elements, corridor safety and mobility improvements, and options for future pedestrian and bicycle connections. Engagement summaries were consistently shared back with advisory groups, ensuring a transparent and iterative feedback loop throughout the process.

This process built trust across neighborhoods, generated a shared understanding of corridor challenges and opportunities, and produced draft concepts rooted in the lived experiences of those who travel, work, and live along Highway 43 every day.

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Coastal Futures is an ongoing teaching, research, and community engagement initiative led by Ignacio Lopez Buson, Assistant Professor of Landscape Architecture at the University of Oregon, with students from the first-year MLA landscape planning studio. Developed in collaboration with North Coast Communities for Watershed Protection (NCCWP), the project uses Rockaway Beach as the first case study for a transferable methodology that can support local governments and community organizations across the Oregon Coast as they confront climate change, development pressure, watershed degradation, and ecological vulnerability.

This project addresses the unique vulnerabilities of small coastal communities. With limited planning capacity, it is difficult to translate academic studies and long-term information into something useful for the community to use in determining its future. This project connects university-based expertise in spatial analysis, landscape planning, and visual communication with community concerns already being voiced locally.

Community engagement for this work included educational and interactive events using posters, maps, 3D printed watershed models, presentations, and take-home materials.

These tools helped residents identify areas of interest and concern, understand how upstream land management affects downstream ecosystems and communities, and provide feedback on climate risks and future planning scenarios. Outreach was conducted through NCCWP networks, social media, local newspapers, and flyers and posters in local businesses, with food and beverages provided to reduce barriers to participation. These engagement opportunities were designed to inform and prepare for future updates to the local comprehensive plan.

By connecting community advocacy, student research, visual communication, and long-term land use planning, the project aims to help Rockaway Beach—and potentially other coastal communities—imagine and pursue a more resilient future.

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Central Oregon LandWatch and its partners utilized grassroots advocacy and accessible education to bridge the gap between resident needs and technical land use planning to inform the City of Bend’s decision-making process. This effort to reimagine how Bend plans for neighborhood commercial uses is part of creating more complete, connected communities. Project leaders started with the question: “What would it take for Bend neighborhoods to function as true, complete communities?” By translating complex zoning concepts into tangible neighborhood benefits, the initiative empowered a diverse coalition of neighborhood districts and advocacy groups to provide actionable input that decision-makers used to shape updates to Bend’s Development Code.

This effort focuses not only on reforming Bend policy around development codes and allowing a greater diversity of business opportunities and types in more areas of Bend, but on increasing representation in community development discussions by making language and information accessible and closing the feedback loop.


2025 ACE Award Recognized Projects

​With support from a $50,000 DLCD Technical Assistance Grant, the City partnered with 3J Consulting, ECOnorthwest, Geos Institute, and Veritas Collaborations to deliver a robust and inclusive planning process. A central goal of the project was to elevate community voices, especially those historically underrepresented in local decision-making. The process included a particular focus on addressing economic development, wildfire resilience, housing affordability, and infrastructure redundancy. 

The planning process officially began in early 2022. By Fall 2024, it culminated in unanimous adoption by City Council of a new Comprehensive Plan grounded in community values and a shared vision for Sandy’s future. The Envision Sandy 2050 project not only resulted in an actionable, forward-looking comprehensive plan but also strengthened civic relationships and institutionalized more equitable planning practices. Lessons learned from this effort continue to elevate Sandy’s approach to community-centered planning.

Over the course of two years, the Envision Sandy 2050 process reached more than 1,000 community members through a wide range of engagement methods. Highlights included:

  • A community advisory committee selected through an open application process.
  • “Community conversations" with over a dozen civic groups, commissions, and Spanish-speaking residents.
  • Surveys, focus groups, and classroom workshops with over 250 high school students.
  • A family-friendly "Future Fest" community meeting held at a local Sandy business, providing food, drinks, kids' open play, and free childcare.
  • Spanish-language outreach through trusted local leaders, including radio and social media outreach.​
  • Resiliency workshops addressing natural hazards and climate vulnerability across various sectors, which directly shaped new policy content.

The outreach prioritized inclusivity by identifying and engaging key populations — especially youth and Hispanic/Latino residents. Materials were bilingual, outreach was grassroots, and digital access barriers were addressed through direct mail and in-person events.

The planning process resulted in the adoption of the tumwata village Master Plan — a 23-acre planned development. The tumwata village Master Plan, was an amendment to the Willamette Falls Legacy Project Master Plan originally adopted by Oregon City in 2014. Changes to the original master plan were proposed to better reflect Tribal values and vision for site redevelopment, and to better meet the needs identified by the community through community engagement.

The project team engaged Grand Ronde tribal members at community meetings, with a compensation model to provide incentives. Those who participated in community meetings, in person or online, were entered into a drawing for three $100 awards and five $50 awards. Grand Ronde tribal elders and cultural practitioners were also actively engaged throughout the process to ensure the cultural values were respectfully and authentically integrated into the planning process.

The site will become a modern mixed-use destination that includes retail, residential, event space, and open green areas. Additionally, it will be a Grand Ronde Tribal village — a place where the Tribe can once again host guests, conduct ceremonies, and celebrate the continued presence of the Grand Ronde community on their homelands.Native plants and wildlife habitat will reestablish the site's natural systems. Water, always central to the history of the Falls, will be integrated into the site's design visually, audibly, and spiritually.​

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2025 ACE Applicants

Although the CIAC could not recognize all applicants with an ACE Award, they were very impressed with all applicants. The following are more examples of community engagement successes.

​In 2024, the City of Monmouth, in partnership with University of Oregon (UO) School of Design faculty and staff, led the Monmouth Alley Activation Project to transform an underutilized alleyway into a new community gathering space. The project fulfilled a need to create more outdoor eating spaces as identified through community input received during the city's recently completed Downtown Plan. The Monmouth Alley Activation Project created an attractive and inclusive space downtown, and the city is already experiencing the social and economic benefits of this new community space.

“The Monmouth Alley Activation Project is a testament of what can happen when you turn community driven plans into action with a group of dedicated partners that are motivated to make a difference in their community by rolling up their sleeves and getting their hands dirty. It was a gratifying and humbling experience to work alongside community members of all ages and backgrounds to transform an unremarkable car-centric space into a beautiful and welcoming downtown destination that the whole community can be proud of," noted Monmouth Community Development Director, Suzanne Dufner. 

Monmouth Alley, which cuts through the southern block of 100 Main Street West in Downtown Monmouth, was historically used by cars accessing parking or conducting drive-through business. The alley crossed the sidewalk mid-block in order to connect with main roads, creating dangerous situations for pedestrians, especially in a heavily used pedestrian corridor that connects community buildings such as, the Monmouth Senior/Community Center, City Hall, restaurants and stores to the campus of Western Oregon University.

Upon receiving a Community Challenge Grant from AARP, the city partnered with UO faculty and staff, who kickstarted the project by interviewing community members, local business owners, and city staff. The project team obtained input from a diverse representation of community members and organizations including, the Monmouth Senior Center, the Monmouth Arts & Culture Commission, the Monmouth Business Association, several student groups at Western Oregon University, including the Freedom Center representing BIPOC voices, staff from the American Sign Language Department, the Stonewall Center representing LGBTQIA+ community, and the Art Department. Community members were asked about their needs and desires in creating an inclusive, accessible, and welcoming space. These conversations inspired and informed initial plans for the alley, which were implemented as a pilot project in the summer of 2024. The pilot project model allowed the project team to adapt the alleyway design to ongoing community feedback.

The first design incorporated outdoor games and a free Little Library to offer play features in the alley. To bring together people of all ages, the space was designed to be adaptable to a variety of events and activities such as, corn hole, checkers, tai chi, arts and craft activities, story time and others. The project team also considered material usage and layout from an accessibility standpoint to avoid tripping hazards, wear and tear, and make it accessible to navigate for the wheeled folks and visually impaired individuals. The second iteration of the design focused on the inclusion of temporary and semi-permanent art added by local community members and professional artists

Throughout the process, the community was invited to participate in multiple multi-media surveys so that they could share what they liked and what they felt was still missing. Volunteer events, featuring free food from local vendors, also encouraged community members to test out the space. This culminated in a final design responsive to the community's desire for more greenery, accessible seating, lighting, and improving the pavement markings with a more durable installation.

Learn more about the project on the City of Monmouth's website​.

​In 2023, the City of Portland adopted a Housing Needs Analysis (HNA) to understand current and future housing needs in Portland. Following this, the city needed to adopt a Housing Production Strategy (HPS) to identify specific actions (policies, programs, development regulations, financial incentives, etc.) to be implemented over the next six years to meet those needs. While there has been robust engagement around housing issues across land use and other projects in the City, Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) communities are still most impacted and priced out of housing market and wealth building opportunities. Staff wanted to provide an opportunity for BIPOC communities to give their input on housing issues and identify strategies that would be most impactful to create better living conditions and stable housing. The City of Portland received a grant from DLCD to engage with historically marginalized communities in developing their Housing Production Strategy.

Over the course of the project, the team hosted or attended 25 community meetings, reaching over 250 participants. These meetings, along with a citywide survey, gave Portlanders the opportunity to provide feedback on engagement efforts and proposed housing production strategies at every stage of the project.

Additionally, the City of Portland partnered with Community Engagement Liaison Services and LatinoBuild to facilitate six BIPOC focus groups and an East Portland BIPOC community meeting, including translation of materials into five different languages. The City reached an additional 108 community members belonging to Latinx, Vietnamese, Chinese, Ukrainian, Russian, Pacific Islander, Burmese, Cambodian, and African communities. Participants were compensated for their time and meals were included at some meetings.​

Participants identified a number of key housing issues in Portland, including affordability, access to services, outdoor space, and programs supporting homeownership and housing stabilization. They also identified a need for increased neighborhood safety, accessible units, and community education for BIPOC homeowners.

The Housing Production Strategy identifies 35 actions that the City of Portland will take in the next six years to remove barriers to housing.​

​The Prismid Sanctuary Rebuild project arose from a community-identified need for Black and Indigenous led arts, performance, land-tending, and gathering spaces that are cultivated by Black and Indigenous people, vision, and values.

Prismid Sanctuary is located in the St. John's neighborhood of Portland, a predominantly low-to-moderate income area that is undergoing processes of rapid Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) displacement. St. Johns and the surrounding neighborhoods are disproportionately underserved with access to arts and creative performance programming, especially for BIPOC communities. Prismid, Inc. purposely purchased land in this neighborhood to reclaim Black and Indigenous community space for those they serve.

Prismid is the sole Portland-area organization focused on Black and Indigenous relationships, land and space sovereignty, in tandem with support/space for artistic and cultural practices. They used their deep, existing relationship with the community to envision and realize a fully remodeled, net-zero building and grounds sanctuary. To achieve community-led design of the rebuild, Prismid Co-Directors Mick Rose and esperanza spalding, alongside Allied Works, led workshops with community members who regularly visited the Sanctuary.

They received input from seven small community meetings (5-15 people), individual conversations, and one all-day workshop. A group of 40 intergenerational BIPOC community members attended the workshop, which included sessions on listening to the land and visually mapping with multi-media onto a site plan. All participants were compensated for their time and creative labor.

From listening to the expressed needs and visions of historically disenfranchised community members, Prismid realized that deep community healing is needed to sustain long term wellness and economic and environmental sustainability.

The team responded to this need with programs, gathering space, and regenerative outdoor environments, designed to support restorative cultural practices.

As a placemaking project that centers the needs of historically marginalized communities, the Sanctuary Rebuild will transfer in ownership from Prismid to be community owned and reclaim Black and Indigenous community space.

This project was recently featured in Oregon Artswatch​.​​

​The Sunrise Corridor Community Visioning project began in 2021 with $4 million from the Oregon Legislature to address development pressures, safety challenges, and infrastructure gaps around the industrial area in northwest Clackamas County. While the corridor has been the focus of extensive planning and engagement work in the past, those efforts focused solely on transportation improvements. The Sunrise Corridor Community Visioning project built upon past projects to create a holistic community vision, with deep community engagement not only on the topic of transportation, but also on land use, public health, the natural environment, housing, and economic competitiveness. This project aimed to center historically underserved voices and local lived experiences in creating this vision.

More than 2,000 community members participated in a wide variety of engagement activities including open houses, multilingual surveys and meetings, youth workshops, walking tours, and small group interviews. The project met people where they were by hosting pop-up events in manufactured housing communities, on bus shuttles, and at farmers markets. Children's activities, food, transportation support, and stipends helped working families participate.

At the heart of this process was the creation of a Leadership Cohort, a diverse team of residents, service providers, and business leaders who co-developed project themes, reviewed feedback, and crafted vision plan language.

Throughout the process, the project team consulted with the Leadership Cohort to adapt materials in real-time in response to community input, and track participation demographics, engagement format effectiveness, and topic resonance. By approaching this engagement project as an opportunity to build lasting relationships, not just collect feedback, Sunrise Corridor Community Visioning established a trusted network of community leaders and public agency staff who will continue to partner on implementing the vision plan.

The final Vision Plan identifies four overarching themes for implementation that were developed and supported by the community: Jobs and the Economy; Neighborhoods and Places; Transportation; and Public Health and the Environment. These themes are supported by 16 specific, implementation-ready goals and more than 100 detailed community-informed actions. These actions include “Quick Wins" – actions that can be advanced relatively quickly and with modest amounts of investment – and “Big Moves" – actions that require sustained regional coordination and investment.

For decades, many Sunrise Corridor Community residents felt left out of planning decisions that shape their daily lives. This project created new opportunities for inclusion, by meeting people where they are, compensating them for their time, and reflecting their ideas directly in the Sunrise Corridor Community Vision Plan. More than just a vision, this project has resulted in a blueprint for action and accountability shared by the community and agency partners. Clackamas County is already using this project as a model for other planning initiatives.


Previously Recognized Projects