Citizens are a great untapped resource to bring about change. Citizens from Portland, Oregon, to the State of Maine are taking back their streets. They have halted bypasses and reclaimed freeways, turning them into parks. Citizens also are limiting the size of roads, refusing to widen them. In short, they are demanding "people friendly" communities, rather than car-centered ones. 

"City councils, planning commissions, city managers, and city planners tend to come and go. Thus even the best of plans are subject to being dismantled over time. A plan that involves citizens in its creation will have a long-lasting and stable constituency."-- Participation Tools for Better Land-Use Planning: Techniques & Case Studies, C. Nicholas Moore, The Center for Livable Communities, A Project of the Local Government Commission, Sacramento, California, 1995. To order, call (800) 290-8202 

Some successful methods for involving the public in planning include: brainstorming; multidisciplinary committees that represent a mix of the whole community; and opportunities for visualization using design charettes; architectural models and computer assisted designs. -- "How to Make Public Participation Work," Transportation for Sustainable Communities, Center for Neighborhood Technology, Chicago, 1992.

Last updated: April 21, 2003

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