FOCUS ON COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
Successful planning meets the needs of all community members, which is why public engagement is such a critical part of the process. It’s important to proactively engage residents, community organizations, local businesses, and leaders to understand their needs and concerns. Community members are more likely to be supportive of projects when planners work to build trust and make them part of the process. Planners can achieve this by openly sharing information in ways that are easy to understand and offering multiple ways for the public to provide input.
Engaging underserved communities—those who have traditionally been left out of the planning process and are most impacted by existing inequities—is key to ensuring that all community members’ voices are heard. Planners must be strategic in engaging underserved communities; for example, while online surveys are a common way to gather public feedback, planners may need to find different ways to get input from populations who don’t have access to the internet.
Our McCormick Taylor planners work to collaboratively engage communities in the planning process. In the case of the City of Philadelphia’s project to cap the Vine Street Expressway (also known as the Chinatown Stitch), the project team made information available and collected public feedback in a variety of ways that were accessible to multiple audiences: online, at local small businesses and pop-up events, and during Community Visioning Workshops. Surveys, flyers, and other materials were written simply and available in Simplified Chinese, Spanish, and English. This public feedback helped develop designs that include greenspace and traffic calming elements.
The next time you walk or roll on a sidewalk, ride in a bike lane, or enjoy a public park, take a moment to appreciate the planners who helped make it come to fruition. Remember that you, too, can be part of the planning process and contribute to your community’s success by sharing your input.
