Integrating Public Participation Tools and GIS Improves Decision Making

Take a planning challenge, add some technology and a pinch of public process, mix them just the right, and you have a recipe for good decision making. Orlando County Florida is cooking up such an event- and planners, practitioners, academics and members from all communities will be interested in watching their progress. Orlando Florida is embarking on a year-long initiative to address economic, environmental, land use, and transportation needs for a 90,000-acre study area in southeast Orange County.

2 minute read

January 9, 2005, 3:03 PM PST

By Ken Snyder


Take a planning challenge, add some technology and a pinch of public process, mix them just the right, and you have a recipe for good decision making. Orlando County Florida is cooking up such an event- and planners, practitioners, academics and members from all communities will be interested in watching their progress.





Orlando Florida is embarking on a year-long initiative to address economic, environmental, land use, and transportation needs for a 90,000-acre study area in southeast Orange County. The goal of the initiative, called Community Planning Collaborative Initiative (CPCI): Democracy and Planning in Action, is to improve land use planning in Orange County and to create an opportunity to demonstrate how public participation and hi-tech tools can be integrated into planning processes in all communities to enhance decision making.





The CPCI process includes: A community assessment of Orange County's current technical and institutional decision making capacity; training in the use of new technologies and how to integrate public processes with technologies to create dynamic and effective decision making; community visioning to gather and synthesize information on public values and concerns; and the digital charrette where community design and decision making tools will be applied (live) to the local planning challenge. (The digital charrette will also be a national event likely to occur in the summer or fall of 2005.) Community process tools like keypad polling, visualization tools that show what changes would look like in the real world, and analysis tools that identify impacts of alternatives, are among some of the tools that will be demonstrated during the digital charrette.





CPCI is the next in a series of five national events on tools for community design and decision making organized by PlaceMatters.com, a program of the Orton Family Foundation. For background and current information about CPCI go to www.tcddm.org.



Ken Snyder

Ken Snyder is Executive Director of PlaceMatters

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Get top-rated, practical training

Close-up of "Apartment for rent" sign in red text on black background in front of blurred building

Trump Administration Could Effectively End Housing Voucher Program

Federal officials are eyeing major cuts to the Section 8 program that helps millions of low-income households pay rent.

April 21, 2025 - Housing Wire

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

April 23, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Ken Jennings stands in front of Snohomish County Community Transit bus.

Ken Jennings Launches Transit Web Series

The Jeopardy champ wants you to ride public transit.

April 20, 2025 - Streetsblog USA

View of residential street in Los Angeles with palm trees and hazy city in distance.

Rebuilding Smarter: How LA County Is Guiding Fire-Ravaged Communities Toward Resilience

Los Angeles County is leading a coordinated effort to help fire-impacted communities rebuild with resilience by providing recovery resources, promoting fire-wise design, and aligning reconstruction with broader sustainability and climate goals.

April 27 - Los Angeles County Chief Sustainability Office

Entrance sign for San Jose-Santa Clara Regional wastewater treatment facility.

When Borders Blur: Regional Collaboration in Action

As regional challenges outgrow city boundaries, “When Borders Blur” explores how cross-jurisdictional collaboration can drive smarter, more resilient urban planning, sharing real-world lessons from thriving partnerships across North America.

April 27 - * A Placemaking Journal

Rendering of Penrose Roundabout in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Philadelphia Is Expanding its Network of Roundabouts

Roundabouts are widely shown to decrease traffic speed, reduce congestion, and improve efficiency.

April 27 - WHYY

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.

Write for Planetizen