Strategies for Resilient Communities

Vandewalle & Associates is working to help the Midwest’s communities and regions navigate through rapid change on multiple fronts including COVID-19 recovery, flooding, and other challenges–helping to build healthy systems with greater resiliency for the future. As regional and global natural, health and economic changes reach into the Midwest, we seek out new ideas, techniques, strategies, and technologies that will set communities up to better plan, adapt, and thrive.

Among the tools we can and have put to use are creative funding and grant writing, GIS mapping, recovery plans, stormwater management, foodshed analysis, economic restructuring, local and regional floodplain and watershed analysis, facility relocation, urban stormwater solutions, mobility plans, and exploration of future scenarios…to name just a few. These next-generation tools and strategies are taking many forms. We continue to research and partner with other experts and communities to develop, shape, and apply more of them. 

Some of our past and present work in resiliency-related areas include:

ECONOMIC RECOVERY STRATEGIC PLANNING

• City of Jefferson Economic Recovery Plan
• East Central Indiana Manufacturing Economic Vision
• LISC-Brew City Match Market Analysis for Fond du Lac North and Clarke Square Neighborhoods
• Mazomanie Economic Repositioning and Downtown Redevelopment
• Muncie Central City Revitalization Plan
• Racine Citywide Economic Opportunity Analysis

HEALTHY COMMUNITIES

• Madison Healthy City
• Local Food Systems
• Sheboygan Comprehensive Plan and Riverfront Redevelopment

RESILIENT INFRASTRUCTURE 

• MGE Solar Siting Analysis
• EV/Mobility Plans
• Smart Cities Solutions
• Urban Stormwater Solutions
• Redundant Power Infrastructure Strategies

RENEWABLE ENERGY PROJECTS

• Cedar Valley, Iowa – TechWorks Green Campus
• Rifle, Colorado – Economic Development 
• Port Edwards, Wisconsin
• Other renewable energy services

GRANT FUNDING

• Jefferson, Wisconsin Grant Funding
• Muncie BUILD Grant Application
• Ottumwa Plan & Grant Application
• Waterloo, Iowa Downtown Redevelopment and Grant Funding

TIF DISTRICT PLANNING, ADOPTION, AND IMPLEMENTATION

• Lets Make Your TIF District Successful
• Capitol East District
• Middleton Downtown Planning and TIF Management
• Monona Waterfront Redevelopment

HAZARD MITIGATION PLANS

• Darlington, Wis. – Hazard Mitigation Plan
• Grant County, Iowa – Multi-Hazard Mitigation Plan
• Marquette County, Wis. – Hazard Mitigation Plan

WATERFRONT FACILITY RELOCATION

• Jefferson, Wis. – Facility Relocation and Renewable Energy Park Plan

FLOOD PLAIN INFRASTRUCTURE

• Waterloo, Iowa – Riverloop
• Janesville, Wis. –  Downtown Riverfront and Town Square

FOODSHED ANALYSIS AND PLANNING

• Local Food Initiatives
• Thrive Regional Opportunity Analysis
• Madison Public Market
• Sturgeon Bay West Waterfront
• Dundee Culinary District
• Pretzel City Kitchens
• Waterloo, Iowa – Riverloop Public Market

AERIAL FIREFIGHTING CENTER DEVELOPMENT

• Rifle, Colorado – Aerial Firefighting Center of Excellence Application