Community engagement on planning subjects is fraught with the potential for boredom and political conflict. The former mayor of Chattanooga recounts lessons gained while combating those possibilities over a 40-year career.
"As a career public servant who has painfully endured hundreds of government-inspired – and often legally required – public hearings over the past four decades, I can attest that sometimes the ultimate result of all that standing and testifying was that someone in a government office checked a box on a page of a bureaucratic government document," writes Ron Littlefield, former mayor of Chattanooga and a senior fellow with the Governing Institute.
Littlefield provides an account of the experiences in Chattanooga, recalling a prolific series of community engagement processes in the city since 2000, culminating with Thrive 2055. The successes and challenges of past community engagement efforts are especially relevant in Chattanooga today—the region has attracted $4 billion in new business investments in the past month.
Littlefield concludes by listing four takeaways from his 40 years of experience in participating in community engagement processes.
Read the full story: 4 Important Lessons from 40 Years of Civic Engagement
Children in 55 countries are redesigning their cities in Minecraft
A U.N.-backed program lets students and community members reimagine sites in their neighborhoods in the game — and translate them into real-life buildings.
Chattanooga selects churches to build up to 400 affordable homes
Eight churches will move forward with plans to develop housing, from emergency shelter to single-family homes, on their properties.
Chattanooga Earns North America’s First ‘National Park City’ Designation
The award recognizes cities that prioritize biodiversity and resident access to parks and green spaces.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
Amtrak, CN end decades-long dispute with eight-year agreement
The new operating agreement establishes an updated framework for the companies to work together, including processes to resolve disputes.
Northwest rail fans eager for Sept. 30 debut of Amtrak’s Airo fleet
Get ready for that new train smell and more seats. But they won’t go faster or run more frequently on the Cascades route in Washington and Oregon.
MTA looks to bring AI-assisted, multilingual announcement system to subways
Some of the transit agency’s audio systems haven’t been upgraded in 40 years.
Houston Metro makes on-demand rideshare pilot a permanent part of its network
The transit agency is launching upgrades to three of its on-demand services.
LAX SkyLink opening delayed again, contractor won’t commit to new deadline
The project was supposed to open its doors to the public in 2023.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
City of Thousand Oaks
City of Wisconsin Rapids
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello