Category: Taking Action
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Earlier this week we looked at ways to improve urban spaces by starting small and engaging the public. Yet there are times when more formal planning processes are needed. If, for instance, zoning codes need to be updated or changing economic conditions demand attention, small changes won’t keep your city running at peak performance. In…
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Urban development is often a difficult process that can create new conflicts and exacerbate old ones, particularly when larger plans are “announced” by community leaders to a public that has not been actively engaged in the planning process and does not understand its goals. In this post, we look at how starting small and working with…
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Some conflict is like a latent staph infection in a body that otherwise seems healthy – waiting to flare up and dangerous when it does. Well-meaning efforts to engage the public can founder in the face of such a flare-up. We have seen this happen to public officials who proudly announce a new economic development…
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In our last post we talked about the importance of assessing your community’s readiness and resilience before determining how to move forward. Some communities are ready to collaborate, and public engagement efforts will work there relatively well. Other communities are not. A community that is clearly ready to work through difficult issues together will exhibit…
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We noted in our last post that, prior to embarking on a collaborative process, it is useful to take stock of the resources available in your community that can help you collaboratively work through conflict. What are these resources? They include, of course, monetary and in-kind resources for funding a process and ensuring adequate…