Interview with an UrbanistBack to News

Having successfully managed many community planning efforts, we have come to embrace this process as a way to create long term value, tap into local knowledge, and to help forge a consensus around a common vision.

Recently I sat down with architect and urbanist Barry Long, President and CEO of Urban Design Associates and discussed the elements of a successful community planning process, what can be gained, what are potential pitfalls and how the use of the internet has changed the process.

KM: Barry, explain UDA’s philosophy about the community planning process:
BL: We believe that a participatory community planning process is the cornerstone of great placemaking. Our job is to build a bridge from where we are today to the future. You can’t expect citizens to support the vision if they were not invited to build the bridge with you.

KM: Why is it important to listen first and then follow up with designs?
BL: Residents always know more about their communities than outside developers and consultants. This is why we advocate listening first and then following up with recommendations. We describe this process as putting everyone’s ideas out on the table and then picking the best ideas.

KM: How do you provide for broad-based participation and input?
BL: We work with our clients to develop a participation strategy that fits the context and project. This generally involves identifying crucial one-on-one meetings with interested parties and a series of public meetings. We always try to create a setting that encourages the people that we are meeting with to tell us about their observations and ideas. This typically involves breaking into small groups at some point.

KM: Can you give us some examples of successes and how you might have done things differently on projects that didn’t go so well?
BL: A commissioner invited me to a “Town Hall” meeting last week that was by invitation only. He rented our Municipal Building on a Saturday morning for the event. Word got out that it was a closed meeting and within 24 hours an opposition group had formed and assembled about 60 protesters to picket the meeting. All the major networks sent camera crews and featured the story. The bruised Commissioner later asked me if I was surprised. I told him that I wasn’t.

In the hundreds of public meetings that we have facilitated we have always left the door open to give everyone who is interested a voice in the process. It can be messy at times, but it has always worked for us.

Consensus Building in the Internet Age

KM: What is different about the community planning process in the Internet Age?
BL: The biggest change that we see is that it is virtually impossible to “control the message”. True consensus building and the power of persuasion are more important than ever before.

KM: How has the internet changed the way that you gather and distribute information?
BL: Traditionally we relied on print media, newspapers, paper flyers, and newsletters, to get the word out and on stakeholder and community meetings to gather insight and feedback. Face-to-face meetings remain the most important part of any public process, but the widespread use of the internet has added tools to the toolkit.

KM: What do these tools include?
BL: Blast email lists, digital newsletters, blogs, and social media sites have for the most part replaced traditional media. These are the tools that we currently use the most to encourage citizen participation.

KM: What are the main benefits?
BL: The public process has always been about creating a bandwagon of support for innovation and good ideas. The main benefit of the internet has been increased public awareness of and participation in impending change.

KM: Any downside?
BL: When information travels at the speed of light misinformation and misunderstanding can travel just as quickly. To keep the facts straight we have found that it is more important than ever to disseminate information as soon as it is available.

We have also seen grass roots support and opposition groups spring to life around controversial issues. This is not necessarily a bad trend. It just reinforces the importance of keeping the facts straight.

KM: What hasn’t changed?
BL: The importance of listening before making recommendations. Residents always know more about their communities than outside consultants. We advocate putting everyone’s ideas out on the table and then picking the best ideas. The best way to do this is to listen.