ENVISION FRONT ROYAL 

Town of Front Royal, Virginia

Front Royal is a historic Shenandoah Valley Town sitting at the junction of rivers, railroads, and highways. It is a gateway to Shenandoah National Park and is within the commute-shed of the Washington, D.C. area. The Town has a strong industrial, working-class legacy, but also has become home to many who commute elsewhere. This identity ambiguity complicates the question of what the Town should strive to become in the future.  Renaissance helped the town answer this question by facilitating a visioning process for the Town Comprehensive Plan.

Renaissance worked closely with Town staff to tailor a schedule of events that maximized opportunities for public involvement. The overall visioning effort was branded “Envision Front Royal” and launched with a logo, press releases, flyers, email and social media. The effort served to publicly launch the Comprehensive Planning process.

We conducted focus group interviews early on, followed by creation of a MindMixer website for public comment and interaction. Renaissance composed a series of question topics to facilitate a steady stream of ideas and dialog on-line. The MindMixer site generated over 200 idea submissions, and provided a substantive launching point for hands-on visioning exercises in the project’s two in-person public workshops. Through our public engagement efforts, Renaissance also created greater community awareness, momentum, and enthusiasm for the vision of the Comprehensive Plan.