Strengthening Civic Identity Through Improved Community Engagement

East Palo Alto is working to better engage with residents, including improved access to services and elected officials. To help with this endeavor, FUSE executive fellow Jerry Chang collaborated with city staff to assess current municipal facilities and suggest improvements. He helped identify possible sites for a new City Hall and designed a plan for raising construction funds. Jerry also worked with small, diverse groups of community members to explore their needs and understand their vision of an ideal community, and he examined the resources needed to realize this future. Jerry is continuing to help the city improve its engagement with residents, identifying and developing creative new ways to reach everyone in the community. He is helping align internal projects focused on improvements to facilities, while also developing ideas for innovative pilot programs that address such issues as affordable housing and advanced mobility. As part of these efforts, he is working to enhance collaboration among the staff, as well as between staff and the community.