Ypsilanti Township master plan honored by Michigan Association of Planning

The Ypsilanti Township 2040 Master Plan has received the Michigan Association of Planning’s 2020 Daniel Burnham Award for a Comprehensive Plan.

The entries in the association’s annual competition were judged by members of the Oregon Planning Association.

"Ypsilanti Township succeeded in creating a group achievement,” wrote one juror. “The plan used a process which fit the community and was strategic in bringing in specific goals around social justice and neighborhood level action items unique to the community." 

Overseen by a  diverse steering committee, the planners used multiple tools to collect public opinion. The robust community engagement process included dozens of face-to-face activities, visits with neighborhood watch groups, a scientific survey, two community-wide multiple-day workshops, multiple mailings to all township households and an estimated 2,000 individual touch points with the public.

This earlier blog post gives details of the engagement process.

“We collect a lot of data in our work, but it is the human stories that inspire us,” said Ben Carlisle. “The opening ceremony put a face on the township and reminded us that a master plan isn’t about streets and  buildings, it’s about people.”

The township’s urbanized north end and its rural/suburban south end are divided by geography – Ford Lake – and demography. All were well-represented in the engagement process.

“We had long-time residents and newer people, even in rental properties, involved,” said Township Supervisor Brenda Stumbo. “They wouldn’t have had a voice if we hadn’t taken it to the people instead of making them come to the township hall.  Then they saw their comments being incorporated into the plan. It was wonderful.”

The year 2020 has seen nationwide recognition of racial inequality and the need for social justice. The Ypsilanti Township plan, created in 2018-19, addresses those issues. The community agreed on five “Catalyst projects,” including healthy and safe neighborhoods as well as preserving open space and agriculture, extending Wiard Road to east Michigan Avenue and promoting culture and quality of life.