Community Engagement
Why Aren’t There More Planners?
Planning can be a great career for socially conscious individuals, but university programs are struggling to attract new students to the field. A trio of academics are raising awareness about the field through community activation.
New Public Hearing Requirements Delay Completion of Reston’s New Comprehensive Plan
One of the country’s most prominent master-planned communities has spent several years working on an a comprehensive plan update. The plan will have to wait a little longer as the Fairfax County, Virginia community adjusts to new state laws.
How to Make Documents More Accessible With Color Contrast
There are many ways planners can be more accessible in their work. This article will briefly touch on color contrast as one of the ways to improve accessibility in planning documents.
Shaping a 15-Minute City Vision for Detroit and Cleveland Using Data-Assisted Modeling
How master plans in the two cities hope to transform their historic, and historically underutilized, waterfronts.
Creating a Meaningful Community Input Process in Baltimore
Seeking to avoid the mistakes of the past, the city undertook a robust community engagement process when planning the reconstruction of the Baltimore & Potomac Tunnel.
New York City Council Wants Community Engagement to Lead Affordable Housing Development
New York Mayor Eric Adams and City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams have proposed very different responses to the city’s lack of affordable housing.
New Community Engagement Practices for Seattle’s Comprehensive Plan Update
A major update of Seattle’s comprehensive plan is just getting under way, with new opportunities for local groups to get involved with outreach and engagement.
Reimagining Public Space in the Post-COVID Era
The pandemic forced a large-scale reexamination of how public spaces and urban form impact public health and equity. Now, policymakers can learn from those innovations to plan for the future of cities.
It's Time for Public Participation to Evolve With Transportation Planning
A manifesto by planning and transportation professionals committing to hearing all voices during public engagement processes.
Contracting with the Community
To connect with hard-to-reach communities, a Twin Cities agency diverted some of its consulting budget away from national firms and to organizations that already had those relationships.
The Consequences of Community Engagement
Long, onerous environmental review processes focused on public input can cause major delays and cost increases for infrastructure and transportation projects.
An Experiment in Civic Activism Aims to Transform Planning
A pioneering architect in Newcastle, U.K. tries to open planning to the people with a new "urban room" for community engagement.
An Open Space Plan for Cultural Landscapes, Resilience, and Growth in the Coastal Southeast
The Beaufort County Greenprint Plan, completed in 2020, offers an innovative model of open space planning integrated within a larger planning framework.
Seeking Public Input on Regional and Rural Park Needs
As part of a study, the Los Angeles County Department of Parks and Recreation is conducting a survey to better understand the use of facilities like beaches, natural areas, open spaces, regional parks, trails, and local parks in rural areas.
Cities Improving Community Engagement By Paying for It
Rochester, MN, joins the ranks of cities realizing that community input is worth paying for.
Why Participatory Planning Fails (and How to Fix It)
“Having participated in several of the I-70 meetings, I got to see firsthand how community input really just meant show up, complain, and we’re going to do the opposite of what you’re asking,” says one Denver councilmember.
Tech and the Post-Pandemic City
To steer American cities into the future, public and private sectors—and citizens—must work together to build broad, lasting support around complicated issues such as transparency and data privacy.
Students Contribute to Park Design Process
As a class assignment, nearly 150 high school students shared their ideas for improvements to Sorensen Park in Lake Los Angeles, California.
Social Media Bots and the Community Planning Process
Recently published research examines the "Role of Artificial Intelligence in Community Planning"—that is, the role of automated bots on social media in corrupting participatory planning processes.
Park Planning in a Pandemic
In pursuit of a grant for park development, Los Angeles County engages community members virtually to gather input and design a new park.
Placer County
City of Morganton
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Dongguan Binhaiwan Bay Area Management Committee
City of Waukesha, WI
Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority
Indiana Borough
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
