By definition, comprehensive plans are complex, long-range, and broad in scope. The planning and engagement processes for these plans often take over two years to complete. This can make it difficult to establish and maintain meaningful engagement with community members throughout the process. Using CitizenLab’s user-friendly and accessible online engagement...
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Planning involves making decisions about the future of our cities, towns, and countryside. So it goes without saying that involving as many people in your community as possible is crucial. As a council, this means making community engagement in local planning a success. In this article, we list best practices...
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“The people are listening.” Creating a city’s inaugural comprehensive plan is a daunting task. Comprehensive planning requires the collaboration of a wide variety of community stakeholders, and affects every resident in a community. Seeking to craft a vision for a revitalized Struthers, local officials in the city’s planning department and...
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Localized flooding and poor stormwater drainage can significantly disrupt communities, causing problems from road and property damage to safety issues due to hydroplaning. In a city like Lancaster, stormwater management is particularly important as they run on a combined sewer system, meaning it collects and transports both domestic sewage and...
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A significant part of any local governments’ list of responsibilities is creating comprehensive plans. These might be strategic plans defining local priorities. Climate plans, outlining long-term strategies. Mobility plans, determining the local traffic and public transport situation. Or maybe city plans, containing decisions to reshape our public spaces in the...
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From urgent calls for racial justice in public spaces to the recovery of small businesses in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s obvious that urban main streets face unique economic and social challenges. Against this backdrop, cities across the country have been piloting new approaches to people-centered main streets. ...
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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...
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