Areas of Special Consideration: Bartlesville, Oklahoma
Bartlesville is a city of 40,000 residents in northeastern Oklahoma, about 45 minutes from downtown Tulsa. Known for its history and economic legacy as the birthplace of Phillips Petroleum Company, Bartlesville is rich with cultural amenities, iconic architecture, and a revitalized downtown.
When the City of Bartlesville set out to update its Comprehensive Plan, staff chose to include a deeper dive into the priorities of two “areas of special consideration.” Comprehensive plans are often sprawling, citywide documents and sometimes it’s difficult to interpret what their policies mean at the level of an individual lot, block, or neighborhood.
As part of a consultant team led by Halff, Hampton facilitated a three-day Small Areas Workshop assessing neighborhood-driven opportunities for placemaking, infrastructure, and development. The workshop focused on two districts that were selected for their interesting character, and potential to redevelop as thriving neighborhood centers: “The Brickyard” is a study area in West Bartlesville that has been a historic hub of Bartlesville’s Black community and culture. West Bartlesville had borne the burdens of environmental damage, health risks, neighborhood degradation, and disinvestment. “The Point on Madison” is a study area at a 3-way crossroads of arterial streets, which developed in a piecemeal fashion over decades with a housing types, commercial spaces, and institutions. The area had its highs and lows over time, and needed to continue evolving to serve the surrounding neighborhoods better.
Stakeholder-Informed Briefing Materials
Hampton conducted research, stakeholder interviews, and surveys to develop briefing materials that covered each study area’s traffic, connectivity, historical development context, present characteristics, market context, assets, challenges, and opportunities – From the perspective of those most familiar with those corners of town. The briefing materials presented four discussion questions, grounded in City staff and stakeholder feedback, to guide the Small Area Workshop for each study area.
3-Day Small Area Plan Workshop
On Day 1, Hampton facilitated a half-day workshop in each study area, with participants including property owners, residents, and representatives from anchor organizations in the community. Hampton took participants out of the meeting room and into the neighborhood, to directly observe the conditions of the site. This fieldwork helped to ground the focused conversation around the future of the study areas in real, on-the ground conditions. During conversation, participants sketched and annotated ideas on personal maps of the area to help illustrate their thinking.
Hampton and the Halff team synthesized findings from the workshop to prepare the top messages for review by City staff on Day 2, to find alignment with City goals and initiatives. By Day 3, Hampton and the Halff team presented to the Comprehensive Plan Advisory Committee, with an outline of preliminary concepts and recommendations from the Small Area Workshops.
Neighborhood-Driven Priorities for Place Strategy and Economic Development
Hampton aligned feedback from the Small Area Workshops into a report that provides the most salient recommendations and action items for each study area. The report is supported by maps, diagrams, imagery, and case studies that help City staff and local stakeholders identify concrete steps to take toward achieving the identified goals. The Halff team added visualizations and scenario modeling to illustrate and test the future potential of the recommendations.
In West Bartlesville, recommendations focused on restoring a residential community of choice and a cultural place for all to experience. New housing, enhanced infrastructure, and cultural placemaking were priority pathways toward the neighborhood’s goals. In East Bartlesville, recommendations focused on enhancing the identity of the corner as a neighborhood center. Improved ongoing communication of property and business owners, aesthetic enhancements to the street, and infrastructure upgrades were priority pathways toward the neighborhood’s goals.