To generate interest in the Albany 2035 General Plan and explain the Plan’s purpose and content, Barry drafted a 5-minute script and storyboard for a General Plan video. The video itself was produced by City staff, with a Planning Department staff member doing the voice-over and a local musician providing background music. Once completed, the video was aired regularly on local access cable TV.
Washington DC Vision for Growing an Inclusive City
To set the stage for the Washington DC Comprehensive Plan Update, Barry and his colleagues at the DC Office of Planning produced “Vision for Growing an Inclusive City.” This colorful large-format document defined the challenges facing the city and offered possible strategies for meeting those challenges in the coming decades. The Vision was organized into three major themes: (1) Creating Successful Neighborhoods; (2) Increasing Access to Education and Jobs; and (3) Connecting the City. The overarching goal was to overcome physical and socio-economic divisions in the city and achieve equitable growth. A multi-media version of the Vision was presented to an audience of 4,000 people at the Mayor’s Citizens Summit in 2003.
The Washington DC Plan Summary is a 12-page newsletter-style publication which highlights the major themes of the new Comprehensive Plan. It was intended to quickly convey major themes and recommendations, summarize the Plan’s contents, highlight changes from the previous Plan, provide a summary of the planning process, and identify key action items. The Summary was jointly produced by Barry and the consulting firms of HNTB, JSA, and MIG, with Barry serving as principal author and editor.
This four-page discussion guide was created to spark a public dialogue about housing issues in San Leandro, California. The publication provided quick facts on demographics and housing in the city, and presented questions for the public to consider at a large community workshop. Copies were made available in multiple languages and were distributed to social service organizations and community groups. The publication helped create a Housing Element that was responsive to local priorities. This was a collaborative effort by Barry and the consulting firm MIG (Berkeley), with Barry providing content and MIG doing design and production.
“Growing Smart, Going Strong” is a 13-minute video designed for local access cable. Barry prepared the storyboard and script for the video, which was released concurrently with the General Plan in 2002. The program was filmed, produced and edited by Multimedia OMI Video, a San Leandro-based business as a pro-bono service to the City. The storyboard combines interviews with community members with a narrative that highlights the major themes of the General Plan.
An essential part of the Oakland Zoning Update was explaining the City’s new zoning rules to the general public.
Barry worked with the City’s planning staff and local access cable television station to prepare a series of YouTube videos on the project. One video described the purpose of zoning and how zoning regulations worked. Another video explained the residential zoning districts, with a short overview of the rules in each zone. A third video explained the commercial districts, while a fourth video explained the zoning maps and highlighted those areas where existing zoning was being changed.
Barry prepared the script, storyboard, and visual images for each video and did the voice-over narration.
As part of the General Plan work program, Barry designed and implemented a resident survey for the City of Piedmont. The four-page survey was intended to gauge public opinion on different planning topics, such as growth, sustainability, second units, parking, capital improvements, public services, and design review. Copies of the survey were mailed to every one of the city’s 3,800 households. Residents had the option of replying on-line or returning their completed surveys in a self-addressed stamped envelope. Approximately 1,300 (34 percent) were returned. The survey report provided an invaluable tool for shaping local planning policy.
The Town of Danville produces a quarterly newsletter (“Danville Today”) mailed to each of the Town’s 14,000 households. As the Town began the public hearing process to adopt its 2010 General Plan, the Town Council asked that an entire edition of the newsletter be devoted to the new Plan. Copies of the eight-page summary were mailed to every household in the City. The intent was to inform the community of key proposals and encourage residents to participate in the adoption process.
