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Recent News!
The 139th R/UDAT was recently completed in Lake Havasu,
AZ! Follow the link to view the Lake Havasu R/UDAT Final
Report.
 List of R/UDAT Communities and Associated
Resources
What can R/UDAT do for your community?
Communities across the country are constantly changing. Some of the
challenges they encounter include the loss of major employers, new
bypass roads, gridlock, unfocused suburban growth, crime, loss of
open space, regional conflict, unaffordable housing, abandoned
mills and industrial plants, environmental problems, vacant
storefronts, and loss of identity. A R/UDAT can help you to respond
to these kinds of issues, develop a vision for a better future for
your community, and implement a strategy that will produce results.
Because the R/UDAT process is highly flexible, it is effective in
communities as small as villages and urban neighborhoods and as
large as metropolitan regions.
Why does the R/UDAT process work?
The process works because it relies on three simple
principles.
Quality: Team members are highly respected, interdisciplinary
professionals selected on the basis of their experience with the
specific issues facing your community. The energy and creativity
that are generated by a top-notch, multidisciplinary team of
professionals working collaboratively can produce extraordinary
results.
Objectivity: Many communities are immobilized by conflicting
agendas, politics, personalities, or even the overabundance of
opportunity. The R/UDAT process ensures that all voices are given a
fair hearing and that options are weighed impartially. The lack of
bias, professional stature of the team members, and pro bono nature
of the work generate community respect and enthusiasm for the
process.
Public Participation: The process encourages the active
participation of all sectors of the community. A common sentiment
expressed after a R/UDAT is: "This experience really brought the
community together. People who never talked before are now working
together."
What is the structure of the R/UDAT process?
The R/UDAT process is flexible and unique, but there are typically
four parts or phases, some of which occasionally overlap.
Phase 1: Getting Started
A local leader or citizen calls the AIA and asks for help, and
the AIA sends information, initiating a conversation between the
AIA and local leaders. A steering committee representing a variety
of residents, local government, businesses, institutions, and
community groups is formed, gathers community support, and prepares
an application. A representative from the R/UDAT Task Group visits
the community, suggests revisions to the application, and prepares
an evaluation report for the AIA and the community. Upon review and
approval of the application, the AIA makes a formal commitment to
your community.
Phase 2: Getting Organized
A team chairperson selected by the Task Group meets with the
steering committee. This visit introduces the chairperson to the
community and its concerns and sparks broader community interest
and participation in the process. Preparations begin for the team
visit, including initial steps that will facilitate the eventual
implementation of an action plan.
Phase 3: Team Visit
The Task Group selects a multidisciplinary team of 6 to 10
professionals who visit the community for four intense, productive
days. After listening to the concerns and ideas of residents,
community leaders, and interested groups and viewing both the study
area and the surrounding community, the team prepares and publishes
a report that is presented in a public meeting on the last
day.
Phase 4: Implementation
The community analyzes the team recommendations, identifies
priorities, undertakes immediate objectives, and prepares an action
plan. Some team members return a year later to evaluate progress so
far and advise on implementation.
What are the products of the R/UDAT process?
 Intangible
products frequently include:
- Objective look at the community
- Sense of purpose and direction
- New energy and commitment
- New levels of cooperation and collaboration throughout the
community
- Consensus on community concerns
- Improved communication networks throughout the community.
Tangible products include:
- A coherent description of the community's condition and the
challenges that must be addressed; this statement, generated by the
steering committee during the application process, is frequently a
community's first citizen-based self-analysis.
- A well-illustrated, professional report, published and
distributed by the end of the team visit, that examines the
community's concerns and aspirations and recommends a vision for
the future, specific action items, and timetables for consideration
by your community.
- An action plan, developed by the steering committee working with
the broader community, that describes priorities for action,
including a timetable.
- A report resulting from the follow-up visit that analyzes the
action plan, assesses progress to date, and makes recommendations
that will aid implementation.
What are some results?
R/UDATs have led to communities coming up with new processes to
improve their quality of life. Some examples are new construction
and development, new public agencies and organizations, new parks
and open space, political change, affordable housing, commercial
and economic revitalization, historic districts, landmark
preservation, new zoning ordinances, pedestrian systems,
comprehensive plans, changes in growth patterns, and stopping
inappropriate development.
How long does the process take?
The first two phases, which are critical to the overall success of
the R/UDAT effort, typically take 3 to 6 months to complete,
depending on how quickly the community can organize. Phase Three,
Team Visit, normally takes place 6 months after your initial phone
call. Phase Four, Implementation, can take as long as needed to
meet local needs and priorities, although the follow-up visit
usually occurs a year after the team visit.
How much does it cost? Who pays for it?
Costs typically range from $50,000 to $60,000, some of which may be
in the form of contributions and in-kind services solicited by the
local steering committee to cover travel and living expenses, as
well as report production costs. Funding must come from a variety
of public and private sources that might include businesses, local
government, nonprofits, foundations, organizations such as the
chamber of commerce, arts councils, the local AIA chapter, and
other community groups and individuals. Experience has shown that
the best way to create broad community support is to ask everyone
to contribute rather than to rely on one major funding
source.
How to get more information
You can download the newly updated R/UDAT Guide: Planning Your
Community's Future, a detailed publication that will
help you decide if a R/UDAT is right for your community and how to
apply. You can also see the list of communities that have hosted
R/UDATs.
The AIA can provide article reprints, sample reports, and names of
resource people. For more information and to help you decide if a
R/UDAT is right for your community, call Erin Simmons,
Director, AIA Center for Communities by Design at (202)
626-7492 or e-mail rudat@aia.org.
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