Citizen Participation
Is 'Hacking' a Planning Commission a Good Idea?
Does giving short shrift to grassroots tradition cut against the dynamics of community-based decision-making?
Atlanta's New Tunnel-Boring Machine Named for a Rapper
The people have chosen a name for a new tunnel-boring machine in Atlanta, and the name they chose is Driller Mike.
Four Steps to Enhanced Crowdsourcing
The second "Empowered Design, By 'the Crowd'" article offers insight into making the most out of new crowdsourcing resources.
Getting Residents Engaged in Participatory Mapping
Participatory mapping has become an increasingly popular planning tool. The examples that follow highlight how communities are using participatory mapping.
Citizen Planning Academies Build Capacity for Local Planning
Citizen Planning Academies build local leadership, increase awareness, and broaden involvement through community education. CommunityMatters highlights examples of citizen academies along with five reasons to start one in your city or town.
The Impressive Story of Florida's 15-Year-Old Citizen Planner
Dylan Gentile, a 15-year-old resident of DeFuniak Springs, Florida, offers inspiration in the form of proactive, positive engagement with the built environment, and already an impressive resume of accomplishments.
Citizens in Central Arkansas Imagine the Future with Interactive Online Plans
How do you create a plan document that grabs the attention of your audience and generates feedback? In Central Arkansas, citizens are exploring and experiencing an interactive online draft plan that makes participation easy and fun.
Participatory Budget Prompts Mixed Feelings in Paris
A poll gave Parisians direct say over which projects the city government will implement with a new participatory budget. Some city residents relished the opportunity to express their preferences. Others raised concerns.
Should NYC's Community Boards Have Term Limits?
Keith Williams reports on the longevity of some members of community boards in New York City. Critics say that the review capacity of the boards would best be served by increased turnover in membership.
Three Everyday Ways to Inspire Urban Change
Chuck Wolfe suggests three, perhaps non-traditional ideas for how to inspire acceptance of change in our cities through accessible experiences.
Art Competition Brings Urban Vitality and Civic Pride
Mark Stryker writes on Grand Rapids' ArtPrize, a citywide art competition that awards prize money based on public vote, and has been a boon to artists and the local economy. It is now inspiring other cities to host their own such events.
Vallejo Approves First City-Wide Participatory Budgeting Process in US
The City Council of Vallejo, California, approved the first city-wide Participatory Budgeting process in the US this week. Residents will directly decide how to spend around $3 million from new sales tax revenue.
Participatory Budgeting Debuts in New York
Tom DiChristopher reports on a pioneering project in New York City that gives the residents of four City Council districts a direct vote on how to allocate municipal funds.
Participatory Budgeting Launches in New York City
In four New York City Council districts, residents will soon be able to propose and vote on capital projects to be funded by councilmember's budgets.
Art as Public Participation
Candy Chang is using public art installations to spark community involvement and input on land use.
Public Art and the Do-It-Yourself City
Jonna McKone profiles various public art projects across the U.S. and Canada, showing that participation in such projects indicates that some residents are taking an increasingly vested interest in the cities they live in.
Suburban Civics in the Age of Facebook
The recently retired Don Waldie, an impassioned observer and critic of metropolitan Los Angeles, spent his career finding ways for residents to participate to the civic process.
Can an Operating System be Developed to Run a City?
Melissa Lafsky asks if citizen initiative facilities like '311' and 'fixmystreet' should be expanded into an "operating system" for cities.
Chicago's $1.3 Million Experiment in Democracy
In a Chicago Tribune op-ed, Alderman Joe Moore explains why he is letting residents decide how to spend his $1.3m ward budget, through the first Participatory Budgeting process in the US.
Chicago's $1.3 Million Experiment in Democracy
In a Chicago Tribune op-ed, Alderman Joe Moore explains why he is letting residents decide how to spend his $1.3 ward budget, through the first Participatory Budgeting process in the US.
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.
City of Albany
UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
City of Piedmont, CA
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research
