This article first appeared on EngagingCities but we’d like to share it here with the NCDD community. How do you get citizens to give feedback about their ideas for the community, while also educating them on the inherent repercussions of their preferences? How do you involve the public in your 30-year plan, while instilling an appreciation for how every decision affects the overall timeline and outcome? You get them to play a game. Playing a game – planning a future The residents of Central Arkansas have […] (continue)

Whether you’re new to a city or a long time resident, you almost certainly have knowledge and perspectives you can share with and learn from your neighbors. If cities had one spot where they could collect and capture the spirit of a thriving area, they might just increase collaboration and knowledge dissemination across an entire region. LocalWiki is a project devoted to sharing the world’s local knowledge. Communities can download their free, open-source software that serves as a content management platform to include wiki pages, […] (continue)

Urban Interactive Studio (UIS), LLC is offering a 15% discount on EngagingPlans Pro-Subscription to all NCDD members who are looking for a cost-effective way to use the Web to facilitate communication with the public throughout their projects. Like all our fellow NCDD members, we are deeply rooted in the belief that we can make our communities better places to live in by giving citizens a voice to positively impact the world around them. We also believe that supporting your work with the right online outreach […] (continue)

When you think of the most democratic place in your neighborhood where resources are universally available, does one government entity immediately come to mind? According to the Urban Libraries Council (ULC), the public library is an institution that has long upheld a reputation as a highly-trusted and valued public resource. Therefore, it has the capacity to play an extremely important role in advancing dialogue and community engagement. In their recently issued leadership brief entitled “Library Priority: Community-Civic Engagement,” the ULC recommends that libraries leverage their […] (continue)

As planners, architects, and passionate urbanists, we regularly ponder new ways to engage the public and get them motivated to be involved in planning projects. Besides the new tools for public engagement available today, we believe it is important to keep hands-on approaches to public engagement as part of the mix. Similarly, we are passionate about sharing with our readers success stories and insights from thought leaders within the planning industry, such as that of the legendary grassroots urbanist Jane Jacobs, which might inspire them to make their communities more livable, or shall we say, “walkable”. (continue)