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January 18, 2012
Increasing Public Participation in Rural Planning & Community Development

A community planner from the “Back 40”, working on a multi-jurisdictional planning process for a small, rural community recently posed this question on Cyburbia. Planner.tk, a local design firm associate and community planner with a passion for 'saving the environment', inquires about how to drum up successful public participation in their county of less than 30,000 people. Insights and ideas came in from fellow Cyburbia members regarding useful techniques in community development as well as unique challenges faced by planners focused on rural areas.

January 5, 2012
Online Resources for Community Building and Public Participation

We’ve been keeping our eye on "Community Engagement", a LinkedIn group that encompasses discussion on community building, education, public participation, participative democracy and working in partnership. One of the most popular ongoing discussions has revealed some of the group members’ go-to websites for community engagement in terms of urban planning, support for citizen dialogue, and innovation. Here’s a list of the highlights:

We’ve been keeping our eye on "Community Engagement", a LinkedIn group that encompasses discussion on community building, education, public participation, participative democracy and working in partnership. One of the most popular ongoing discussions has revealed some of the group members’ go-to websites for community engagement in terms of urban planning, support for citizen dialogue, and innovation. Here’s a list of the highlights:

December 1, 2011
Social Cities: How to Engage Citizens With Digital Media

The increasing growth and complexity of cities raises the question how we can use digital media technologies and principles from online culture to design livable and lively cities. How can digital media aid citizens to engage with their environment, with fellow urbanites, and with issues at stake in their cities? Most mobile and location-based apps are about personalized consumption and sharing preferences with an in-group of like-minded people. Can we use digital technologies to help solve collective problems in the city too?

The increasing growth and complexity of cities raises the question how we can use digital media technologies and principles from online culture to design livable and lively cities. How can digital media aid citizens to engage with their environment, with fellow urbanites, and with issues at stake in their cities? Most mobile and location-based apps are about personalized consumption and sharing preferences with an in-group of like-minded people. Can we use digital technologies to help solve collective problems in the city too?

July 11, 2011
How Storytelling Helped Three Communities Find Their Heart & Soul

Storytelling has long been used to connect people to each other and to celebrate the past, but a handful of communities today see storytelling as the way to a better future. The three communities highlighted here and in the Planning Tool Exchange used storytelling to engage their citizens and identify common values – part of a broader community planning processes.

June 13, 2011
Participation Metrics in Online Communities Often Neglected

In our opinion, evaluation of participation metrics should be paid more attention to. More often than not, online communities don’t serve their purpose of engaging visitors, simply because they are not being monitored appropriately for optimal participation. Here are just a few things that can be done to raise the bar to measure and increase public engagement in online communities.

In our opinion, evaluation of participation metrics should be paid more attention to. More often than not, online communities don’t serve their purpose of engaging visitors, simply because they are not being monitored appropriately for optimal participation. 

Below, you will find a few ideas for what can be done to raise the bar to measure and increase public engagement in online communities:

December 4, 2010
Last minute annoucement: CityCamp Colorado

From the official website: CityCamp Colorado will bring together people like yourself to share ideas to improve local government. CityCamp is an unconference focused toward the participants sharing insights and experiences and taking action to bring about the significant, positive change our communities need. At an unconference, content is created and organized by participants.

October 12, 2010
The Community Engagement Pyramid

When it comes to building online communities, attracting visitors to your site is only half the battle.  Once they’re there, how does one engage them and build a flourishing online presence?  While there are many schools of thought on this dilemma, Wiser Earth offers an interesting approach.  Their approach can be summarized by one simple concept: The Community Engagement Pyramid.