Around the world, people seem to be breathing a collective sigh of relief as cities liven up with a renewed sense of hope. But the road to this point, after a year of loss and hardship, has not been easy. And often, cities were at the forefront of addressing some...

At CitizenLab, we believe that a combination of synchronous and asynchronous participation opportunities make for the most qualitative processes. Before Covid shook the world, these synchronous opportunities were mostly happening offline. Public engagement sessions, town halls, focus groups, and citizens’ panels were almost entirely organized as in-person events. However, the...

So, you’ve engaged your community. You’ve asked residents and stakeholders to share their ideas, cast their vote, or take part in a survey.  You might’ve even asked them to allocate a certain budget or invited them to an online workshop. And now, the results are in. You’ve got the answers...

Local governments have a wealth of knowledge to share. We know that tapping into the collective intelligence of our 300+ local governments, organizations, and partners we work with could result in a profound collective impact. To harness the power of our network across the world, we’re building a brand-new community...

In this series, we’re highlighting six inspirational projects that have launched on our platform. From Peru to the Netherlands, governments and organizations around the world are connecting with residents online to co-create their communities. Keep reading to get inspired! The Municipality of San Isidro, Peru launches first bottom-up proposals 🇵🇪...

Studies show that people across the globe developed closer connections with the natural spaces surrounding them during the pandemic. For a long time, parks, lakes, and forests offered us the opportunity to move in the outside world with a relative sense of freedom intact. As we focus on community recovery...

Public spaces should be equitably distributed, open to everyone, and inclusively designed. It’s no wonder that many urban planning processes now focus on placemaking, the people-centered approach to planning and design of public spaces.  The inequities of community development were hard to ignore in 2020. Whether you lived close to...

Our cities. They are the nexuses of our world. As buzzing and vibrant melting pots of culture, history, art, commerce, and progress, they represent some of humanity’s finest and brightest triumphs. Wherever people from all walks of life come together, the air is thick with raw potential.  And yet, as...

As we’re slowly but surely making it to the other side of the COVID-19 crisis, it’s time to set our focus on recovery. Where do we go from here? How do we rebuild our communities better? And how do we make sure we emerge from these challenges together and stronger?...