Building a Neighborhood: Community Development Strategies for North Hermiston

Recent economic investment of some of the largest companies in the US make Hermiston the fastest growing city in Eastern Oregon. As a result, Hermiston is experiencing rapid change in population growth and urbanization of rural land. The city of Hermiston presented students with the opportunity to present ideas for a site that is experiencing dynamic changes of due to rapid growth. Five student teams were assigned a thematic area of focus to help deepen their research and frame their master plan proposals for the project site. From this focused research, students developed key strategies and recommendations for the City to consider. The student teams identified four key strategies to transform the project site into a vibrant neighborhood: increasing connectivity, focusing on affordable housing, placemaking opportunities, and community engagement and equity. The key strategies respond to the issues identified by the City by: • Promoting connectivity and building robust alternative modes of transportation. • Prioritizing affordable housing and leveraging development partnerships to annex vacant and blighted property. • Using generative planning policies and creative placemaking to build community and foster small business. • Focusing on community engagement and deliberate inclusion of the Latinx community. This report is a summary of the primary ideas and strategies proposed by the student teams. The research and analysis undertaken by the student teams is described and insights that influenced the student teams approaches are highlighted.