Recent Projects

We invite you to review the breadth of Cogito’s skills with complex community issues and our ability to produce positive results.

Coming in 2013!  

Cogito is leading the public involvement on the Franklin Boulevard Redevelopment Project in Springfield, Oregon. Located adjacent to the Willamette River, the Glenwood area has enormous redevelopment potential.  Residents, property owners, area businesses, elected officials, and agency staff will work toward a design to improve traffic flow, as well as bicycle and pedestrian facilities.  

In addition, Lane Transit District has hired Cogito for On-Call Public Involvement for future projects.  We are excited to be part of LTD's successful effort to improve transit services for all residents in our community.  

South Willamette Street Improvement Plan

Building understanding of opportunities, limitations and phasing potential among a large pool of stakeholders is important for this project. The community will help to develop options to improve South Willamette Street, as well as face the trade-offs necessary in the short run.  ODOT, the City of Eugene, DKS, and Cogito are working hard to meet the needs of cyclists, pedestrians, transit riders, freight, and commuters on this busy street.  

Highway 126 Fern Ridge Corridor Plan

The Highway 126 corridor, between Veneta and Eugene, Oregon, serves many uses, including local residents, businesses, commuters, freight haulers, cyclists and tourists visiting the coast. This project involves these stakeholders in a process of developing, evaluating and selecting preferred alternatives to improve the corridor’s safety and function. Public engagement on concerns about adjacent natural resource lands, the highway’s central role in the region’s economy, access management, and desire for multi-modal transportation requires balanced outreach and responsive communication. This project is on target for completion by the end of this year.  Visit the website at http://highway126.org/.

Lincoln City Highway 101 Design Concept Workshop

As the Oregon Department of Transportation on-call public involvement consultant, Cogito designed and facilitated three important workshops to resolve long-term design challenges for Highway 101 through Lincoln City.  

University of Oregon Physical Development Framework Plan

The University of Oregon worked with our consultant team, led by Lorig Associates, to develop a Physical Development Framework Plan for two properties on the edge of the University of Oregon campus. Cogito managed the Public Involvement, including work with the adjacent neighborhoods, surrounding businesses, city staff, and the university community. Efforts included early conversations with diverse stakeholders, a charrette, 2 open community meetings, and an interested parties list for email communication.

Image Redesign for the ASPIRE Program

The ASPIRE program of the Oregon Student Access Commission hired Cogito to redesign their print materials and make videos for the program.  Within a short two month timeframe, Cogito lead a public input process and worked with subcontractors bell+funkand Attic Media to create a new image for the program.  Deliverables included a new logo, brochure, poster, curriculum, and four videos.  

Best Practices for Neighborhood Outreach and Board Governance

Cogito developed and taught best practices for neighborhood boards and commissions for the City of Eugene Neighborhood Services.  Work included facilitating a committee, designing tools and materials, and developing and teaching curriculum over a two year period. Products include a Primer on Working Agreements and Training Resources for neighborhood boards and commissions, as well as Outreach Tools Materials for Neighborhood Organizations.

Salmon River Highway Transportation Demand Management Corridor Plan

ODOT, Lincoln County Transit, the Confederated Tribes of Siletz, and other stakeholders are working together to improve transportation options for tourists, residents, and employees who use the corridor to access recreation, employment, educational and health care opportunities. Cogito is leading the public involvement, which includes interviews, focus groups, and committee meetings.

Downtown Riverfront Master Plan and Land Use

The Eugene Water & Electric Board conducted a master planning process in order to sell a large portion of its riverfront property in downtown Eugene. Cogito involved over a thousand community members in developing a new vision for this property and the final plan was unanimously approved by the EWEB board in June of 2010.  The master plan develops the connection between downtown and the Willamette River, is sensitive to the environment, uses sustainable design strategies, and proposes ways to teach about the river, the history and the city. Cogito is the Public Involvement Manager for prime contractor, Rowell Brokaw Architects.

PAST PROJECTS

Eugene City Hall Complex Master Plan

Cogito, formerly T'NT Consultants designed and led a city-wide, comprehensive public involvement process to create a unique vision of Eugene’s most important local civic building—the city hall. Over a 2 ½ year period, we used multiple innovative methods to engage the public in understanding the project's complexities and trade-offs, and were able to represent the input gathered effectively in both the policy and design arenas of master planning. Both the methods employed and the talent of the personnel led the Mayor to hail the work as a model for the city in future efforts. The public involvement process included six large forums, six specialized input groups, presentations at civic groups, and direct interface with the public by staffing a standing display at community events. The project generated an interested parties list of over 1000 individuals who received Project Updates via email. The project included direct recruitment of underrepresented populations, including youth, minorities, and individuals with disabilities. The result was an inclusive conversation that provided for a direct interface between city staff, consultants, elected officials, and the general public. City Hall Complex Public Involvement Final Report.

Santa Clara River Road Outreach and Learning Project

Participants received the City of Eugene "2012 Neighborhood of the Year" based on the positive outcomes of this project. Land use, transportation, governance, and parks, and recreation were the focus of work by a neighborhood group to educate residents and gather input on neighborhood priorities. With the assistance of Cogito, the group conducted outreach to over 500 residents through events, meetings, street displays, and informal conversations.  The outcome of the project was an increase in community networking and creative solutions to service delivery issues. View the website at www.scrrol.org.

West Eugene Wetlands Education Center Master Plan

The City of Eugene employed Cogito, formerly T’NT Consultants to design and implement a public involvement process for the West Eugene Wetlands Partnership. The process included six focus groups and two public meetings to identify key issues regarding the design of an education center. We also used print and interview surveys to evaluate the needs of the community, as well as the barriers to participating in education programs for Title One schools in the Bethel and 4J School Districts. Sharing the concept designs and listening to the concerns of adjacent property owners was another important component of the project. The knowledge gained fundamentally altered the way the design team conceived of what was necessary to serve the program vision and site capacity. WEW Final Report. Current info on the project.

Lane Community College
Our charge was to work with a large committee to prioritize and select capital improvement projects to be included in a bond financing measure. First we facilitated the committee to develop inclusive criteria for evaluating projects and assessing alignment with other college policies. We then used a matrix tool to focus discussion and assist with comparison and prioritization. Recommendations evolved in a short amount of time through a process that everyone understood. LCC Final Report.

Rasor Park Mixed Use Center
The City of Eugene asked for guidance in bringing diverse elements of the community together to evaluate next steps in a neighborhood-based land use project in Eugene, Oregon. We recruited a citizen advisory committee, established process and project goals and objectives. We facilitated the committee meetings, after which members issued a unanimous recommendation to the planning commission to move forward with the project planning. In the next phase beginning in September of 2008, we will plan and facilitate design workshops, committee meetings, and neighborhood outreach for project completion. City of Eugene Website on Rasor MUC.

Springfield Schools Site Assessment
A bond measure provided the Springfield School District with funding for two new buildings, and district officials asked for basic site analysis information on three potential school sites. Fischer Consulting provided maps and written assessments of land use and zoning, urban services, traffic and parking, vegetation and soils. 2007.

River Road/Santa Clara Transition Project
A two-year contract with the City of Eugene addressed land use and annexation issues in the River Road and Santa Clara neighborhoods of Eugene. David Reed & Associates contracted with Fischer Consulting to design and manage the public outreach process, including recruiting and administrating a task force of residents, coordinating with City staff, and developing informational materials for the public such as a brochure, maps and website. We conducted eleven public meetings about the future of the neighborhood in a highly charged political environment. Products by Fischer Consulting include: Project Brochure. Public Information Booklet.  Public Involvement Final Report. Project Final Report.