We Are All In This Together

Posted On July 28, 2019

(Bottom-Up Planning Mindset Series- Part 4 of 4)

Happy Sunday! Today marks the end of our first mini-series on Bottom-Up Planning Mindset. Let’s close by discussing how our projects can create a real impact in bringing out those who are often not included in the conversation when planning a project and how we can be effective participants in projects ourselves. 

Let’s recap some of the benefits that make the Bottom-Up Planning Mindset so important:

• It is essential for creating a positive and complete development project; 
• It prevents individual communities and groups from having to shoulder disproportionate burdens; 
• It helps maximize a project’s benefits to its communities;
• It creates trust between the project staff and the community;
• And lastly, it encourages the participation of those who are at the bottom of the social pyramid.

This is not meant to be a complete list of the benefits that a Bottom-Up Planning Mindset would offer but it does highlight the importance of keeping this in mindset when working on a project. The distinction between having a vision for a positive project and actually creating a real, impactful project starts with seeing the project in a holistic manner. This is one of the many reasons why a Bottom-Up Planning Mindset is important. Without having the perspectives of those at the bottom of the social pyramid any project in a community will have an information gap that is essential for the success of a positive community project. 

The same concept applies to ourselves as community members. By actively participating in local community meetings, notifying our peers, and bringing out those who may have a stake in the local planning projects, we contribute our own efforts into steering our local communities in the right direction. Many infrastructure, development, and long-range projects are required by law to conduct public engagement events, send out notices, and invite the public to submit comments. 

Some tips on finding information for public engagement events are as follows: 

• Public engagement meeting dates and times, often including agenda and minutes can be found on the official agency websites at all government levels; local, regional, state, and federal. 
• Local development projects, including permitting and licensing (such as liquor licenses) are usually under the Department of Building and Safety or Department of Planning. 
• Transportation projects: Road work projects are usually under the Department of Public Works, state highways are under State Department of Transportation. Airport issues are regularly discussed (usually monthly) at the Airport Authority public meetings. 
• Unsure if the project you care about has a public engagement process or where to find the public meetings? Contact your local government office or elected officials’ office. They can find out for you. 

One of the most important indicators for creating and implementing an effective and positive project is by collecting as much relevant data as possible. By doing our part to collect the necessary information for our projects, we will be able to piece together a more complete picture and make better decisions to reach the best outcome. The same goes in reverse. As a community member, it is our responsibility to help projects in our communities in reaching the best decisions for both ourselves and our neighbors. Successful and positive projects can only be achieved through collaboration and that can only be true if we all participate. Afterall, we are all on this planet, and in our communities, together. 

Afterword

Today’s podcast and blog conclude the Bottom-Up Planning Mindset mini-series. What do you think of the blogs and the podcasts? What would you like to see more? What would you like to change? We want these materials to be easily understood and enjoyable for everyone, that is our goal. So Please! Tell us how we can improve them for you!

Also, we will start with our new mini-series on Urban Migration next Sunday, August 4th. Want to know all about the growing trend of people moving from rural areas to urban centers? Why this is happening and how it affects our future? Check out our blog next Sunday. The first podcast on the new topic will be released on Sunday, August 11th.

Don’t forget to follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin, and Twitter to stay on top of our releases and tell your friends about us so we can all discuss these social issues together. And please, feel free to leave feedback in the comment section of the blogs or on social media. We love to hear from our Project Planning Green family. 

Thank you for tuning in! 

Project Planning Green