"Unprecedented positive response." That is how this planner for an island city of 20,000 describes public feedback to his creating several blogs to update his community about local planning ideas and decisions. "Blogging as I am using it is not only a tool but an entirely new stage for community engagement that is adaptable for planning and design professionals, local governments and NGOs," Voight adds.
The main blog site is here. Its focus is "assisting dialogue about future subdivision regulations for our community," reads its front page. A companion site presents "the first major report on the project and uses an innovative mapping technique to present information." A third site is to "update the design regulations I wrote for the community in 2005."
Voight's colleague Cac Kamak also has two other blogs currently underway: One site is aimed at "our comprehensive park plan update –- I assist in the management of this site." The second is a blog for that project.
Got all that? Voight answered our questions about this unusually detailed effort at public engagement:
How did all of this get started? Can you provide some history? As a planner, I had developed a successful repertoire of engagement techniques for both large and small groups including: facilitating charettes and photo scavenger hunts; and, conducting roundtables, visual preference surveys, and interviews. However, I saw that the successes of these practices was limited because each represented only single events within complex processes, and the beneficial characteristics of these were not integrated throughout these processes.
After significant analysis into ways planners, development related professions, and local governments were engaging the community, I came to the conclusion that a new platform needed to be developed that would address the fact that current practices function on the false premise of community members’ ability to access an existent luxury of time; money; specialized skills; influence; or availability of highly trained professionals; thereby alienating far too many people.
I saw that blogs had the potential to become the next step in engaging the community, and when designed appropriately provide a structure within which these limitations could be addressed. In the blogs I have developed this also includes video reports, a diversity of face-to-face engagement methods, and analysis and presentation design that function well within the blog media.
What are the goals for these sites? The primary goals are community engagement and citizen empowerment. It is about real communication. Dialog between people with real understanding. Standing in the same place together, not necessarily seeing things the same way, but listening, learning, and cooperating, with a common purpose. Community is derived from Latin words for gift and among each other, literally meaning to give among each other. The blogs are designed to facilitate that civic transaction.
What has been the community impact of this type of blogging? The impacts have been multiple; such as improved city and stakeholder relationships; greater direction from citizens; and, more public participation. There is no history of municipalities designing project specific blogs as a process platform, so this has also resulted in community excitement to be part of an innovative process.
What has been the community reaction? What have you learned? What advice would you have for other municipalities considering something like this?Unprecedented positive response. What is important to remember is that these blogs are more that just a presentation formats. Blogging as I am using it, is not only a tool but an entirely new stage for community engagement that is adaptable for planning and design professionals, local governments and NGOs.
Integrating blogging into the communication and stakeholder dialog of a project goes beyond presentation. As an organization you must be able to honestly ask and answer the question “What is our intent and content?” before developing this kind of open engagement method. Project management and strategic planning within a blog structure requires a committed that is not disingenuous, tokenism, or decorative. The content must be robust, the site well designed and functional, and you must be prepared for the necessary time commitment.
Given that this type of blogging is a platform for a drastically different way of engaging the community, it is taking time for everyone to understand and grow into its potential.
Just as with any system or project there are many skills that need to be integrated. For the projects I am working on this involves integrating social planning, urban design, facilitation, mapping, graphic communication, action research, and other personal engagement techniques. The need for sound planning theory, skills, and design sensitivity do not vanish because of the presentation format. There is more to consider behind the blog development than may meet the eye. In fact these issues are heightened because of the open nature of the process. Therefore, I caution organizations against using blogs without a clear strategy in place. They are not magic. GIGO: garbage in, garbage out.
What has been the reaction of the entirety of the leadership of the City of Oak Harbor? It’s council, mayor, etc.? The reaction from city management has been positive and they are beginning to see the scope and scale of the benefits of this strategy. For example, the ability for staff, Planning Commission and Council members to following along with projects outside of their regularly scheduled meetings has been a great benefit. Allowing them to become more fully informed and affording them more contact with the project specifics and community.
Should all governmental agencies blog? Yes. All government agencies have information and processes that could benefit from well designed blogs. However, the more meaningful question is “How do all governmental agencies blog?” Determining what aspects of their function would benefit from enhanced communication, access and citizen empowerment is only the beginning of necessary insights needed to develop an effective blogging strategy.
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