Jordan Pauw
Community participation is an important part of the planning process, particularly for public spaces such as squares, shared/pedestrian spaces, parks and playgrounds.
Spaces like Freyberg Place and the Fort St precinct had an extensive consultation, in this article, we discuss the importance of this and how you can get involved.
The importance of community participation in the planning process:
While urban design projects may be privately funded or commissioned by a governmental organisation, they will affect the community and users, who are the true “customers”, and who will have to live with both the benefits and the failings of a project.
Consultation with communities offers a unique perspective on the current use of a space, what works, what doesn’t, and what changes the community would like to see (for example, the provision of drinking fountains or improved accessibility).
Forms of participation
While consultation on or participation in the planning process are not always required of the developer, many are wise enough to see the benefits in doing so. There are many ways to participate in the planning process, some of which are:
- Community Meetings
- Design Workshops
- Focus Groups
- Interactive models & displays
- Participatory Appraisal
- Planning and Briefing Workshops
Community meetings are one of the most common forms of consultation. These are generally held in a community place (like a town hall or community centre), and are effective at informing the community of proposals and sharing a greater level of detail. Community consultations tend to be more informative than participatory, but they do offer an opportunity for questions from the general community with immediate answers.
Design Workshops In a similar manner to planning and briefing workshops, Design Workshops generally run for between a few hours and several days, depending on the nature of the project. The focus of these workshops is generating design ideas for the development, and the general direction of the project will generally be established. As it is early in the planning process, communities will typically have a greater opportunity to affect changes in this stage than at the community consultation stage.
Planning and Briefing Workshops are held before design work begins on a project, and generally, involve stakeholders and users. These are generally focused on gathering information and providing an opportunity for community representatives to propose ideas and have meaningful interactions, particularly to clarify objectives and identify shared goals. Because these take place early in the development process, they generally allow greater participation by the community representatives involved and involve more dialogue and control to the participants than a community meeting, where many aspects of the proposal have already been decided and only limited change is possible.
Organisations & opportunities to participate:
OurAuckland is a useful resource for information about council news and improvements in the Auckland area, while Auckland Council’s website has information on public participation and a list of consultations you can have your say on.
Wellington City Council has a similar page to Auckland Council’s on consultations and public participation.
The central-city neighbourhood group SPLICE is made up of Auckland city centre residents and runs classes and various events in the CBD.
Follow our Facebook page for links and news regarding submissions in Auckland in the future (particularly the proposed 30km/h speed limit in the CBD)
Know of any other sources or community groups involved in urban planning practices? Let us know in the comments down below!