Waterloo Greenway Strategic Plan & Implementation

Uncommon Bridges partnered with Waterloo Greenway Conservancy, a nonprofit organization based in Austin, Texas, dedicated to the development and management of the Waterloo Greenway, to help the organization develop a detailed integrated strategic plan.

The Waterloo Greenway is a significant urban revitalization and adaptive reuse project working to transform a neglected creek—with a long cultural and ecological history—into a vibrant, sustainable, and connected urban park system to address current and forthcoming City needs regarding equitable accesses and experience of Central Austin’s waterways.  

Uncommon Bridges facilitated a series of meetings and closely collaborated with staff and a dedicated strategic planning leadership group made up of board members. This involved extensive workgroup sessions and meetings spanning a six-month period.

Some challenges we experienced in this effort included:

• Clarity on board and staff roles and responsibilities between oversight and execution of strategies.
• Alignment with City and other institutional partners, including Downtown Austin Alliance, on Waterloo Greenway’s purview.
• Balancing the integration of equity as an overarching organizational belief with tactical implementation opportunities.

As a result of this effort, Waterloo Greenway established guidance by identifying and in some cases merging existing organizational priorities. The guidance also integrated elements related to organizational stability, capital projects, programming, relationships, partnerships, and to better define the unique identity of the organization and its parks. An important component of this included supporting the drafting of the organization’s renewed commitment to equity and its direct connection to plan implementation.