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Making Space: A New Way for Community Engagement in the Urban Planning Process

Author

Listed:
  • Elizabeth Gearin

    (College of Agriculture, Urban Sustainability and Environmental Sciences (CAUSES), University of the District of Columbia, Washington, DC 20008, USA)

  • Carletta S. Hurt

    (District of Columbia Public Schools, Washington, DC 20002, USA)

Abstract

The current research shifts from the tradition of researcher-generated and directed community study and explores a new model for data collection based on citizen-directed participation and restorative economies. This is important because the scholarship of urban planning is often separated from the practice, in which scholars undertake the bulk of the academic research and professional planners work in the field, engaging with the community and creating and implementing plans around local issues and opportunities. While urban planning trends support diverse, equitable, and inclusive engagement in visioning and shaping local development, few operationalized examples exist for citizen-led scholarship with local community application. The work outlined herein explicitly partners with local residents to collect data on both community and academic interests, and it also promotes a citizen sense of agency. Community leaders worked with the local public university to design and implement a study to solicit park use ideas and visions among three groups: youth; adults; and returning citizens. Results identify an overall theme of a lack of engagement with the community, relative to other local parks, and they also highlight four common areas of thought between the three populations—concerns about safety among park users, functional use of park space, demand for widespread park access, and desire for natural environment conservation. This work represents a viable local engagement approach including demonstrated investment in a local community and resultant increased trust; also, this work contributes valuable new knowledge about local history and the use of a community resource to inform land use planning and policy around community sustainability.

Suggested Citation

  • Elizabeth Gearin & Carletta S. Hurt, 2024. "Making Space: A New Way for Community Engagement in the Urban Planning Process," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(5), pages 1-18, February.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:16:y:2024:i:5:p:2039-:d:1349094
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Isabelle Anguelovski & Clara Irazábal‐Zurita & James J.T. Connolly, 2019. "Grabbed Urban Landscapes: Socio‐spatial Tensions in Green Infrastructure Planning in Medellín," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 43(1), pages 133-156, January.
    2. Sabine O’Hara & Golnar Ahmadi & Midas Hampton & Konyka Dunson, 2023. "Telling Our Story—A Community-Based Meso-Level Approach to Sustainable Community Development," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(7), pages 1-18, March.
    3. Matthew Carmona, 2019. "Place value: place quality and its impact on health, social, economic and environmental outcomes," Journal of Urban Design, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 24(1), pages 1-48, January.
    4. Konsti-Laakso, Suvi & Rantala, Tero, 2018. "Managing community engagement: A process model for urban planning," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 268(3), pages 1040-1049.
    5. James Jennings, 2004. "Urban Planning, Community Participation, and the Roxbury Master Plan in Boston," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 594(1), pages 12-33, July.
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