City Consulting: Engaging Austin to Understand Homelessness
City Consult: Homelessness
Faculty: Greenberg, Sheri and Pedigo Steven
To solve complex community and civic challenges, cities often look to consulting practices to develop data-driven strategy solutions. In Austin, the challenge of homelessness has risen to the forefront of community concern; as a response, the city has developed a data dashboard to guide policy interventions but needs an engagement strategy around the platform. In this applied “city consulting” course, students will serve as “consultants” for the city of Austin, helping to build a community engagement plan. In doing so, course participants will learn how to develop and respond to “request for proposals,” devise a client engagement strategy, and create a data-supported client deliverable. The course will also broadly explore the concepts of design thinking, community development, affordable housing, and public health.