Since 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted our lives, causing us to rethink many of our prior daily routines. From how we work to how we socialize, the pandemic forced us to adapt to a new normal. One overwhelmingly positive change was discovering the power of virtual community engagement during the 2020–2021 master planning process for the Kingsmill Community.
Timmons Group’s Landscape Architecture team collaborated with the Kingsmill Community Services Association alongside sub-consultants GuernseyTingle and Brand Federation to lead a community-driven, comprehensive plan for Kingsmill on the James, a master-planned community in James City County, Virginia. As the team’s planning efforts kicked off in March 2020, the need for creative solutions to engage the community became essential since in-person meetings were no longer possible.
The Kingsmill Community spans 35 miles, encompassing roads, tunnels, and bridges, along with three recreation centers, five tennis courts, two basketball courts, several lakes, ponds, streams, and environmental areas. Additionally, it boasts over a mile of riverfront beach, catering to 5,600 residents residing in 2,370 households. Nearing its 50th anniversary in 2023, Kingsmill needed a new visioning process to reposition the neighborhood as a premier community that continues to serve current residents and attract new ones.
Kingsmill’s community members are deeply committed to the future of their beautiful neighborhood along the James River, which is why having their involvement in the decision-making process was crucial to the success of the project. “At the very beginning, we made a point of saying that we wanted this to be a completely open process that was as transparent as we could make it. At the end of the day, we wanted whatever plan we came out with to reflect what the community sees itself being in the future,” said John Hudson, President of Kingsmill Community Services Association.
To best engage community members and get as much input as possible without in-person meetings, the Landscape Architecture team had to get creative and make the most out of the virtual realm. They implemented six community-wide presentations, three board-level presentations, several community surveys, design sessions, live polling events, and other engagement strategies to ensure the final plan represented a broad spectrum of community input.
During the process, the team discovered numerous useful virtual functionalities that helped recreate some of the same energy as in-person experiences. Live polling was beneficial for getting instant feedback on design concepts, as was the Q&A feature to help manage and address each question from the audience. These virtual meetings allowed for a safe and more readily accessible means for attending, especially for some individuals where in-person attendance, even outside of pandemic conditions, might pose a challenge.
Another benefit of Zoom was its recording capability, which allowed the team to easily document the meetings and post them on the Kingsmill Community Services Association website. The team paired online surveys with each meeting so they could continue polling community members as they watched the presentations on their own time. The team used this combination of tactics to achieve their goal of capturing the broadest community participation possible.
Once navigating the uncharted online territory, the team soon realized the positive benefits of the situation. “While challenging at first, in some ways, the virtual engagement was easier for people to plug into, and they can work it into their lives wherever they are located at any point in time,” said Scott Wiley, Principal and group leader of Landscape Architecture at Timmons Group.
The Landscape Architecture team received a wealth of community input over more than a year, enabling them to develop a proprietary cost-value calculator for the community-drive master planning process. This tool categorizes and ranks a lengthy list of ideas and recommendations for neighborhood improvements. The results of the project valuation exercise established the foundation for Kingsmill’s new long-range plan. With the newfound power of virtual community gatherings, the Timmons Group Landscape Architecture team made the most of an unprecedented situation and collaborated with a dynamic client to deliver an impactful plan.
The Kingsmill Community Master Plan received a Merit Award in the Analysis and Planning category at the 2023 Virginia Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects (VA ASLA) Professional Awards Program. Congratulations to our partners and the community members whose significant contributions have shaped the future of the Kingsmill Community!
