Code for America has released an Engagement Standard that provides concepts for measuring the quality of new engagement platform technology—not a bad tool to have in the perpetual quest to increase the quality of engagement processes.

Shannon McHarg provides insight into a system for measuring civic engagement as created by Code for America. The volunteer problem solving organization has created an Engagement Standard comprised of five elements: Reach, Channels, Information, Productive Actions, and Feedback Loops.
The eight approaches to civic engagement announced in the headline here and in McHarg's article refers to eight different platforms, which are each easily evaluated by rating according to those five elements. The eight platforms, in order of how the perform according to Code for America's Engagement Standard:
- Participatory Budgeting
- Regulation Room
- Change.org
- Brigade
- We the people
- POPVOX
McHarg goes platform by platform, showing how each of them rate relative to the five elements.
FULL STORY: Engaging Citizens: A Review of Eight Approaches to Civic Engagement

Alabama: Trump Terminates Settlements for Black Communities Harmed By Raw Sewage
Trump deemed the landmark civil rights agreement “illegal DEI and environmental justice policy.”

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

The 120 Year Old Tiny Home Villages That Sheltered San Francisco’s Earthquake Refugees
More than a century ago, San Francisco mobilized to house thousands of residents displaced by the 1906 earthquake. Could their strategy offer a model for the present?

Indy Neighborhood Group Builds Temporary Multi-Use Path
Community members, aided in part by funding from the city, repurposed a vehicle lane to create a protected bike and pedestrian path for the summer season.

Congestion Pricing Drops Holland Tunnel Delays by 65 Percent
New York City’s contentious tolling program has yielded improved traffic and roughly $100 million in revenue for the MTA.

In Both Crashes and Crime, Public Transportation is Far Safer than Driving
Contrary to popular assumptions, public transportation has far lower crash and crime rates than automobile travel. For safer communities, improve and encourage transit travel.
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.
Clanton & Associates, Inc.
Jessamine County Fiscal Court
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Harvard GSD Executive Education
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions
Salt Lake City
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service