Community Engagement

New York Voters to Consider Term Limits for Community Board Members
Proposal 3, on November's ballot, aims to bring new diversity to the community board system that advises land use and development decisions around the city.

Advice on How to Get More Involved With Planning
A roundtable discussion tackles the question about how to make those first steps toward more involvement with planning in the local community.

Empowered Through Design: How a Purposefully Rudimentary Activity Sparks the Imagination
Memory can be an intensely powerful tool when planning for the future.

Acknowledging the Emotional Abuse Facing Planners
A professor of planning calls out the emotional abuse facing planners—from professional colleagues in related fields, from elected officials, and from the public.

Seattle Rolls Out New Community Engagement Framework
Under the new guidelines, developers will need to implement specific community engagement strategies, at times based on a neighborhood's demographics.

Facing Contention: 21 Tips to Detox Public Engagement
Forces are aligning to increase polarization and tension in public dialog, and planners are increasingly caught in the middle. A recent workshop with 100 engagement experts resulted in a free eBook to help planners detox their public involvement.

Survey: Anti-Developer Sentiment Drives Anti-Development Sentiment
All planners encounter passionate obstructionist activity at some point. While the reasoning for anti-development is often discussed, it's still not a widely understood force in the planning process and the evolution of cities.

Let Me Tell You a Story! Storytelling to Enhance Urban Planning Engagement
Storytelling are a key tool for planners. Here are a few tips on how to integrate storytelling into planning processes.

Report: New York Planning Needs Better Community Engagement
A new report from the Regional Plan Association, expected for release early next week, will provide suggestions for how the city of New York can empower community boards.

The Community Takes Ownership of Harvard Square
Harvard Square bears the name of a prestigious private university, but it's still public space. More community organizations are taking a role in determining its future in an era of change for the historic location.

The Metropolitan Council's 'PlanIt' Podcast on Equity in Everyday Planning
Equity is a popular topic of discussion, but how can planning organizations address that within their structure? What are some actions that they can take to include equity in everyday operations?

Community Mapping Project Pays Off in More Ways Than One for Flint
The community's hard work has helped Flint planners take an inventory of its building stock, as well as secure needed funding from the federal government.

Successfully Engaging With Underrepresented Communities for Comprehensive Plans
Community engagement is a powerful tool to guide investments toward the places we inhabit.

Green Infrastructure Planning to Empower Communities
With the recently adopted Community Greening Plan, Capital Region Water has committed to the implementation of green stormwater infrastructure in Harrisburg. The plan is empowering residents to partner in stormwater management.

Using Public Art to Make Sense of Wastewater Infrastructure
The city of San Jose and designers from the University of California, Davis have completed a community-led design process to raise awareness about the connections between the kitchen, sewers, and the environment.

Pokémon Go to Expand its Reach in the Community
The makers of Pokémon Go, touted for its potential to activate sedentary Americans since its release last year, will take more initiative to participate in community-based events.

Want Commuter Benefits? Sometimes it Helps to Ask
A story about how a simple proposal, made by a resident, produced results in the New Jersey borough of Paramus.

Nextdoor Looking to Expands its Influence on Local Politics
A decade into its history, the hyperlocal social media site Nextdoor is looking for feedback and hoping to expand its reach before the 2018 and 2020 elections.

MARTA Surveying Residents on Expanded Transit Service in Atlanta
While Atlanta gets ready for new transit service, its suburbs may not be so lucky.

Unlikely Public Engagement Tactics Get Results for Small Towns
Four small cities across the country are seeing positive results with non-traditional public engagement strategies like bouncy castles, beer coasters, and ball games.
Pagination
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.
Smith Gee Studio
City of Charlotte
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
US High Speed Rail Association
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
Municipality of Princeton (NJ)