designing public consensus

While being interviewed recently about public participation in urban planning, I was asked why this topic has suddenly become such a big deal. I had to stop and think.

Short answer: It’s the Internet. The Internet now plays a big role in what people know and how they know it. If you can go to the Internet and find out about virtually anything anywhere, then of course people are going to be more educated and informed on pretty much any subject—including issues that affect their community. The Internet also offers a handy way to spread the word, connect with the likeminded, rant, and build consensus.

An upside: we are now working with much more informed groups of constituents. People can survey the information before they attend a meeting. They know the issues and what to expect.

A downside is the vast array of misinformation that’s out there. Anyone with a website can pose as an expert. And while rumors have always been a problem, they can now travel at the speed of light.

The Internet is full of upsides and downsides for planners who are dedicated to engaging the public. As discussed in my book, Designing Public Consensus:

The Internet offers new opportunities to collect and store information, provide easy access 24/7, and draw in more diverse participation…But the Internet cannot solve all our problems of reaching out to the public; and it continually creates new demands for transparency, speed, and visual sophistication…Expectations are high, and younger generations will put even greater demands on our ability to convey information dynamically. Fortunately, new technologies…will help to meet these expectations and enable us to better communicate with the public overall. But we, the designers and planners of the future, will have to move faster and work smarter in order to keep up.

An earlier post describes the public debate about building metrorail over or under Tysons Corner, a classic “edge city” in Northern Virginia (second only to NYC in office and retail space on the East Coast). Video clips of a recent rally have shown up on YouTube and a young blogger, clued in to the controversy by a PR executive who attends his church, has been following the progress of the debate, as reported in the Washington Post. Of course, there’s also a dedicated website for tunnel supporters, with one-click access to petitions, supporters, and handy forms for contacting the Governor and Secretary of Transportation.

The 2010 Imperative Global Emergency Teach-In addressing global warming and climate change is an interactive web-cast broadcast live from New York, reaching more than 500,000 students, faculty, deans and practicing professionals in the architecture, planning and design communities in both North and South America. Hosted by the American Academy of Sciences on February 20.

The Washington Post reports on a Swedish town that has voted to relocate before the iron ore mine beneath it literally “undermines” their terra firma.

The citizens of Kiruna—who dub themselves “the No-Problem people”—have taken on this geological challenge with gusto. Last month, the town council voted to move much of the 23,000-person city to a spot 1.25 to 2.5 miles northwest of its current location, away from the direction of the cracks.

The town plans to move in stages, with the entire relocation accomplished by 2099. The mining company says it will cover most of the costs of the move.

Kiruna officials are hoping their move can become a model for communities that will be affected by climate change in the coming decades. The predicted sea level rises will eventually force many cities in the developing world to move tens of thousands of people to higher ground, and Kiruna is organizing a conference in 2008 that will examine how best to do this.

Now that’s a cheerful approach to disaster planning. 

Here’s some old-fashioned “public participation”—Austinites turned out 2,500-strong to demonstrate for “enlightened urban redevelopment.”

As neighborhood opponents have articulated clearly, the fight isn’t just about hating Wal-Mart. Rather, the uprising of activism in this ordinary middle-class part of North Central Austin is fueled by a more profound sense of outrage and betrayal – and by neighborhood pride and a strong positive vision.

A taste of things to come: New York Governor Eliot Spitzer signed an executive order on January 1 requiring ALL PUBLIC MEETINGS to be webcast.

The citizens of New York must be “fully aware of and able to observe the performances of public officials and attend and listen to the deliberations and decisions that go into the making of public policy,” the order states.

Highlighting how important it is for the public to participate in the making of public policy, Gov. Spitzer is ahead of the curve in giving the public an up close and personal look at the issues, deliberations and actions of public officials. Look for more elected officials to do the same. Transparency is one of the biggest communications waves to hit the public discourse.

There’s “confusion and angst” in Northern Virginia, where a groundswell of support for a metrorail tunnel through the busy Tysons Corner area—and strong opposition to current plans for an elevated track—may have come too late. The tunnel, once deemed too expensive, now seems feasible, but key decisions on the project were made more than a decade ago.

As the Washington Post reports, everyone is puzzling over this question: “How is it that an option that almost everyone agrees is preferable probably won’t get built?”

We’re asking professionals who deal in public participation what they see as the issues, trends, and helpful techniques.

This response comes from Joan Isaacson, an EDAW senior associate and coordinator of the EDAW Public Participation Collaborative.

What do you think professionals need to think more about or do more?

Joan: I found Barack Obama’s “The Audacity of Hope” inspiring from a public participation perspective. He talks a lot about the possibility of finding common ground among the polarized interests marking national politics. I have taken this message to heart, that the key to engaging people in a productive dialogue to find solutions is to help them see the common values that they hold. Then keep the dialogue focused there and identify solutions that address those common values as well as specific issues and concerns that people have.