Abstract
Public participation brings people together to discuss common themes or issues that may be impacting them (Arnstein, 2019; Richards & Dalbey, 2006; Rowe & Frewer, 2004). For successful participation to take place, open lines of communication need to be established to allow for conversations between the public and the decision maker (Richards & Dalbey, 2006). It also requires dynamic structures including multiple participatory methods to produce effective feedback (Tritter & McCallum, 2006). What these lines of communication and dynamic structures look like have drastically changed all in one year. Prior to 2020, most public engagement sessions were held in person as this allowed the public to connect with subject matter experts and engage with the people who could initiate the changes they were suggesting. However, in 2020 the ability to bring people together in a common space disappeared while the online rooms appeared. With platforms such as Zoom and Bang the Table® making it possible for “in person” meetings to continue, have they allowed for effective public engagement to take place? The presentation will explore the tools that are available for online engagement and discuss what is missing to allow for impactful engagement. There are many proponents to a public engagement session and now that the world is well versed on hosting discussions in the online world, will online public engagement continue to be a tool that is utilized for all engagement sessions or will we revert back to the past methods of meeting in person?
Presenters
Rebecca PoschmannStudent, Master of Environmental Design, University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Details
Presentation Type
Theme
KEYWORDS
Public Participation, Community Engagement, Public Engagement, Community Associations, Urban Planning
