encouraging citizen input on parks: getting out of the ... · ‣ towels and spray to erase the...
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M any local park directors and community leaders strugglewithlowattendanceandparticipation at events inviting citizen input. Because public involvement is vital to democracy, governmental leaders needtofindnewwaystogiveavoicetoeveryoneinterestedin a topic, issue, or decision.
Thetopreasonsthatpeoplecitefornotparticipatingincommunityengagementactivitiesarelackoftimeandotherpriorities.Also,citizensoftenthinkpublicmeetingsareboring,andthesessionsusuallyprovidefewopportunitiesforinteraction.Communityleadersmustalsocontendwithlimitedfundsandstaffwhentryingtoprovideopportunitiesforallcitizenstocontribute.
Overcoming barriers to participationCityandparksleadersneedtohostactivitiesthatengagethe participants and encourage two-way communication. TheResource Guide on Public Engagement describes 22 types ofpublicengagementactivities,includingconversationcafes,issuesforums,andstudycircles.
Designyouractivitiestofitthesituationorcommunity.Theguidelinesbelowcanhelpyougathermeaningfulcontributionsfromallpublicsectors:
‣ Setacleargoalforgettingcitizeninput. ‣ Make sure that the participants are diverse and
representativeofthecommunity. ‣ Craftconsistentandclearquestions. ‣ Select engaging and interactive activities that support
your goal. ‣ Pilot test your process. ‣ Provideanadequatenumberofwell-trainedstaff. ‣ Holdeventsinallareasofyourcommunity,and
schedulethematdifferenttimesanddays. ‣ Chooseavarietyofsitesthatresidentsofdifferent
neighborhoods visit regularly. ‣ Use social media when appropriate. ‣ Encourage all to contribute to the discussion. ‣ Understand your limitations. ‣ Plan to systematically collect, enter, and analyze the
data, and report the results regularly.
Theworksheetsbeginningonthenextpagecanhelpyouincreasecitizenengagementandreachabroaderrangeofcitizens by meeting with people at community places that areapartoftheirdailylives.
Encouraging Citizen Input on Parks: Getting Out of the Boardroom
By Jamie Rae Walker¹ and Suzanne Landau²
ERPT-01510/16
Klyde Warren ParkDallas, Texas
¹AssistantProfessorandExtensionSpecialist–UrbanandMunicipalParks;²GraduateAssistant,TexasA&MDepartmentofRecreation,ParkandTourismSciences;TheTexasA&MUniversitySystem;PhotobyDanielLobo(CCBY2.0)
Goals ‣ Connectwithcitizensatlocationsaroundthe
community ‣ Improve communication between parks
department representatives and local citizens ‣ Determine the citizens’ activities in parks and
recreationfacilities
LocationsWithapprovalfromthefacilityowners,hostactivitysessions at local parks, shops, grocery stores, or gas stationsinvariousareasofthecommunity.Schedulethemat various locations, days, and times.
Activity stationsSetupfourstationsneardifferententrancesofthespaceorbuilding.AtStations1,2,and3,postquestionsonlarge laminated posters on which participants can write their answers. At Station 4, allow the participants to talk withparkandrecreationstaff.Usetrainedfacilitatorsto interact with participants and probe them about their responses(Fig.1).
Supplies ‣ 3laminatedposterswithprintedquestions ‣ 3to6signsexplainingtheprocess ‣ Brochures about the park department ‣ Cameratocapturepheotosoftheresponseslisted
on the posters ‣ Clipboards/paper/pensfortakingnotes ‣ Laminatedmapoftheparksystem ‣ Markers ‣ Planforaccommodatingpeoplewithspecialneeds ‣ Signsindicatingthatparksstaffersareavailablefor
questions ‣ Table and chairs ‣ Tape or another adhesive to hold the maps and
posters to the wall ‣ Towels and spray to erase the posters as needed
Strengths ‣ Nottimeconsumingforparticipants ‣ Createsconnectionsbetweenparkstaffand
residents ‣ Activityisinformal,notintimidating ‣ Createsopportunitiestoconnectwithabroader
arrayofresidents ‣ Providesopportunitiesfordialogue
Limitations ‣ Timingmaybeinconvenientforsomepeople ‣ Difficulttoengageshy/quietpeople(Theymight
just walk past.) ‣ Lessfocusedthanotherengagementactivities ‣ Randomtimesaremoredifficultforintentional
visitors ‣ Some participants may not live in the community ‣ Currentseason/weathercouldinfluenceresponses
Station 1What recreation or leisure activities do you participate in?
Station 3What recreation and leisure activities would you like to be able to do in the future?
Station 2What parks or recreation
facilities and programs do you use? Why?
Station 4Ask us questions...
Park staff will be available to answer questions.
Connecting with Citizens Outside the Box
Figure 1. Activity stations
Goals ‣ Connectwithandimprovecommunication
between citizens and parks department representatives
‣ Determinetheactivitiesofcitizensatparksandrecreationfacilities
ActivitiesHoldsixsocialmediaactivities,eachusingaquestion(Fig.2),viaTwitterandFacebook.Infouractivities,simplyaskfollowerstoreplytothepostedquestions.Thefifthisaquestion-and-answeractivity.Determinethetimesandmethodsforresponding.
Forthelastactivity,askparticipantstouploadpicturesandpostinformationonwhatmakestheareasimportantto them.
Supplies/support ‣ Social media accounts ‣ Stafftopostandmonitoraccounts ‣ Scheduleforpostingquestions
Strengths ‣ Not time-consuming ‣ Easyfor“followers”toparticipate ‣ Saves time, money, gas, etc. ‣ Activityisinformal,notintimidating ‣ Createsopportunitiestoconnectwithabroader
arrayofresidents
Limitations ‣ Timingmightbeinconvenientforsomepeople ‣ Some users might not check social media during
thistimeframe ‣ Users might hold back since screen names are
associated with replies ‣ Lessfocusedthanotherengagementactivities ‣ Nonresidents may participate ‣ Feedbackmightbeskewedbyseason ‣ Limitedtothosewhousesocialmediaoutletsand
are connected to these accounts
Activity 1What recreation or leisure activities do you participate in?
Activity 3Why do you use park and recreation facilities and programs?
Activity 2What parks or recreation facilities
and programs do you use?
Activity 4What recreation and leisure
activities would you like to be able to do in the future?
Activity 5Do you have a question about the PARD?
We will take questions through Friday and respond by next Wednesday.
Activity 6Share a picture of a park or
recreation facility you use for recreation or leisure.
What makes this place or space valuable to you?
Figure 2. Social media activities
Connecting with Citizens on Social Media
Goals ‣ Connectwithandimprovecommunication
between citizens and parks department representatives
‣ Determinetheactivitiesofcitizensinparksandrecreationfacilities
‣ Understandthevalueoflocalsitestocitizens
ActivitiesWelcome: Explainthecitizeninputprocess,itsvalue,andtheusesplannedfortheinformationreceived.
Instructions1. Reviewthecommunitymappingactivityand
remindtheattendeesthatparkandrecreationstaffersaretheretoanswerquestionsordiscussparks,facilities,andprograms.
2. Give each participant a packet containing a short worksheetandtwosheetsofdots.
3. Haveafacilitatorconfirmthattheattendeescanfindkeylocalsitesonthemaps.
4. Ask the participants to stick green dots on places inthecommunitythattheyuseforrecreationandleisure.Thesefacilitiesdonotneedtobejustthosethat the city provides.
5. Havetheattendeeswriteontheirworksheets:6. How you use these places? 7. What about these places makes them valuable to
youforleisureandrecreation?8. How do these places contribute to your everyday
life?9. Givetheseinstructions:Usingthepurpledots,
markthreespecificplacesthatarevaluabletoyouforrecreationandleisure(okaytomarkalocationpreviouslyidentifiedinthefirststepwiththegreendots).
10. Have the participants write on their worksheets whyeachplace/spaceisvaluabletothem.
Parksstaffandfacilitationpersonnelshouldbeonhandto discuss the places and recreation activities with the participantsandanswerquestionsorprovideguidanceasthey complete the process. Note: Make accommodations forthosewithdisabilities.
Supplies ‣ Packetsforeachparticipantcontaining50green
dots, 3 purple dots, and a worksheet ‣ Numberandletterthedotstoenablethe
participants to correlate the data on the maps with their worksheet responses.
‣ Clipboards ‣ Pens ‣ Two9-footby5-footmapsmarkedwiththe
community’s major streets and its parks and recreationfacilities
Strengths ‣ Not time-consuming ‣ Activityisinformal,notintimidating ‣ Interactive
Limitations ‣ Feedbackmightbeskewedbytheseason ‣ Some individuals may struggle with mapping
activities ‣ Some people may not remember some sites
Adapted fromO, Say Can You See: A Visual Awareness Toolkit for
Communities. By M. Maguire. Scenic America. 1999.Mapping Special Attributes in Survey Research for Natural
Resource Management.ByG.Brown.UniversityofSouthAustralia.2004.
Hand Made Tokyo: Document of the Tokyo Mapping Workshop.TokyoUniversityofAgriculture.http://a-small-lab.com/projects/hand-made-tokyo.2010.
Community Mapping
Part 1: Landmark use ‣ Pleasemakesurethatyoucanidentifyalandmarkorintersectiononthemap. ‣ Listtheplacesinthecommunitythatyouuseforrecreationandleisure. ‣ Below,explainhow/whyyouusetheseplaces/spacesforrecreationorleisure. ‣ Please tag each place on the map using the green dots provided.
Part 2: Landmark value ‣ Usingyourthreepurpledots,pleasemarkthreeplacesinthecommunitythatarevaluabletoyourrecreation/
leisure(okaytomarkthosethatyouidentifiedwiththegreendots). ‣ Below,pleaseindicatethevaluethateachplaceorspacecontributestoyoureverydaylife.
A. B. C. D.
E. F. G. H. I.
J. K.
A. B. C.
Place that you use for recreation and leisure Value that this place contributes to your everyday life
Place that you use for recreation and leisure How or why you use this place
Community MappingActivity Sheet
Additional Resources“CoreValuesforthePracticeofPublicParticipation.”
InternationalAssociationforPublicParticipation.http://www.iap2.org/?page=A4
“DeliberativeCivicEngagementinPublicAdministrationandPolicy.”ByT.Nabatchi.2014.Journal of Public Deliberation, 10(1),Article21.Availableat:http://www.publicdeliberation.net/jpd/vol10/iss1/art21
“DirectPublicEngagementinLocalGovernment.”ByT.NabatchiandL.Amsler.2014.American Review of Public Administration.DOI:10.1177/0275074013519702
Dynamic Citizen Input Activities. TexasA&MAgriLifeExtensionService.2012.AgriLife.org/urbanparks/
Everyone Counts: Could Participatory Budgeting Change Democracy?ByJ.Lerner.2014.Ithaca,NY:CornellUniversity Press
Focus on Citizens: Public Engagement for Better Policy and Services. OrganisationforEconomicCo-operationandDevelopment(n.d.)http://www19.iadb.org/intal/intalcdi/pe/2009/03785.pdf
Framework Driven Citizen Input Processes.ByS.LandauandJ.R.Walker.TexasA&MAgriLifeExtensionService.AgriLife.org/urbanparks/
Going to the People and Getting the Feedback You Need. Slide presentationbytheTexasA&MAgriLifeExtensionService.2013.AgriLife.org/urbanparks/
Helping America Talk: How We Can Improve Public Discourse. ByJ.Prudhomme.2012.InteractivityFoundation.Availableat:http://www.interactivityfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/Helping-America-talk-web-version-Oct-2012.pdf
Making Democracy Fun: How Game Design Can Empower Citizens and Transform Politics.ByJ.Lerner.2014.Cambridge,MA:MITPress.
Resource Guide on Public Engagement.NationalCoalitionforDialogueandDeliberation.2010.
“VarietiesofParticipationinComplexGovernance.”ByA.Fung.2006.Public Administration Review, 66,66–75.
Texas A&M AgriLife Extension ServiceAgriLifeExtension.tamu.edu
More Extension publications can be found at AgriLifeBookstore.org
Texas A&M AgriLife Extension provides equal opportunities in its programs and employment to all persons, regardless of race, color, sex, religion, national origin, disability, age, genetic information, veteran status, sexual orientation, or gender identity.
New
For help in creating a citizen input process or other information on parks, contact your local county agent or Extension specialist at counties.AgriLife.org/
or rpts.tamu.edu/extension-programs.
The top reasons that people cite for not participating in community engagement activities are
lack of time and other priorities.