“Visioning” is the process of learning what a community wants for itself and making consensus and collective vision possible.
The Walker Collaborative’s Phil Walker gained his initial Visioning experience during the late 1980s as an Associate with Hintz/Nelessen Associates in Princeton, NJ, a nationally recognized pioneering firm in Visioning. Since then he has utilized a broad range of Visioning tools to forge a public consensus on planning issues, including Vision Surveys, Public Opinion Surveys, Focus Group Sessions, Planning Charrette Workshops, Real Time Polling, and Visual Simulations.
Not only does Phil take the lead role in Visioning for the projects that he primes, but he is sometimes hired for the same role as a sub-consultant on projects he does not lead.
Phil Walker is trained and certified in managing charrettes by the National Charrette Institute (NCI) and has been a member of the International Association for Public Participation. In addition to public sector Visioning, he has performed consumer preference research for the real estate industry using similar methods.
Visioning Project Portfolio
Hilton Head Island, South Carolina
GULLAH GECHEE VISIONING
Although Gullah people now account for only 7% of Hilton Head’s population, prior to the mid-20th century, they were the island’s sole inhabitants. Because their population and culture continue to dwindle, TWC was hired by the town to develop a strategy to preserve their culture.
Tryon, North Carolina
DOWNTOWN TRYON VISIONING and STRATEGY
Tryon is a town of 1,500 residents in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Until recently, there were several vacant buildings and it struggled economically. Consequently, the Tryon Downtown Development Association (TDDA) hired TWC in 2015 to conduct a visioning and planning process to craft a strategy for the downtown.
Frederick, Maryland
MONOCACY PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT
In 1973, much of the 1864 Civil War Battlefield of Monocacy was designated as a National Historic Landmark (NHL) District, but the National Park Service (NPS) recently proposed expanding the boundaries. Thus, the Frederick County Landmarks Foundation hired The Walker Collaborative to lead a public outreach program to build support from affected property owners, local governments, and the general public.
Topeka, Kansas
CAPITAL DISTRICT CHARRETTE
Topeka is the capital of Kansas, and Kansas Avenue is Topeka’s “Main Street.” Although Kansas Avenue benefits from the 10,000 state employees that populate the area each weekday, much more revitalization was needed. Consequently, The Walker Collaborative was hired by the Capital District Project to run a public charrette to generate ideas.
Kingsport, Tennessee
KINGSPORT VISIONING
Over the past decade, a variety of entities had conducted community visioning projects to forge a collective vision for the future of Kingsport. TWC was hired by the City to analyze the extensive visioning data, interpret that information, and develop the composite vision on which future planning recommendations can be based.
Additional Projects
Phil Walker has played a key role in the following projects through The Walker Collaboration (since 2002) and previous firms.