City and County of Denver | Energize Denver Equity Priority Buildings Facilitation Services
Energize Denver Equity Priority Buildings Facilitation Services
First, the City and County of Denver’s Office of Climate Action, Sustainability, and Resilience (CASR) Energize Denver program partnered with Lotus to inform equity priority building (EPB) owners about forthcoming building performance standards (BPS) for small buildings and gather insight into specific tools, resources, and other supports Denver may be able to offer to support these building owners in meeting the requirements. This project offers an overview of Lotus’s core steps and deliverables designed to foreground equity in the stakeholder engagement process: equity guide, stakeholder map, engagement plan, and final report.
First, the equity guide identifies the factors and processes to consider when developing the engagement strategy, resources, and support services to help Denver’s EPB community meet the City’s BPS. The guide (1) contextualizes the need for an equity-first approach to community engagement and program development, (2) explores existing equity-first approaches that the City has undertaken, and (3) outlines equity-first best practices and processes for use in this current relationship-building phase and for consideration in future equity-focused engagement work by CASR. The equity guide served as the foundation for equitable engagement throughout the project, as well as offered insights into potential strategies and programs that may work well for the project.
Next, Lotus developed a stakeholder map of buildings that were between 5,000-24,999 square feet. The stakeholder map forms the basis for targeting engagement efforts, ensuring the project team is aligned on who to engage and when, how, and why. All data was run through a series of filters, including the percentage of affordable housing units in the building, whether the buildings were in Neighborhood Equity & Stabilization (NEST) neighborhoods (neighborhoods identified by the City that are facing rapid change and increased cost of living, rent, labor, and materials), and building location compared to census tract. Following that, buildings were specifically pulled out based on their Equity Index.
From the research conducted for the equity guide and the stakeholder map, Lotus crafted and facilitated a number of engagements, including in-person and virtual focus groups, informational interviews, and listening sessions. All engagements were planned with a focus on equity, including providing participant stipends, food, and childcare while ensuring all materials and presentations were translated and interpreted into languages most appropriate for the audiences. Lotus also conducted all Spanish translation in house, contracted the Community Language Cooperative (CLC) to provide interpretation services for in-person meetings in Spanish, and contracted CLC for translation and interpretation services to Vietnamese.
As evidence of Lotus’s flexibility and responsiveness to the community, we focused on deploying informational interviews with key community connectors and convening or attending community meetings led by trusted community partners, such as BuCu West, DEDO, Little Saigon Business District, and Vecinos Unidos. This adaptive approach opened the doors to facilitating informational interviews with stakeholders from business improvement districts, property management, brokers, industrial contractors, and HOA boards. All engagements held space to listen to concerns and co-create solutions.
Finally, Lotus drafted a report summarizing engagements and providing recommendations and guidance to Denver on opportunities to improve services and resources for EPB owners to better compel compliance with Energize Denver requirements. The final report was written in English and translated into Spanish to reach a broader audience and continue equitable practices during the project process.
