Community Planning

Community planning without involving the community seems pretty silly, and yet I'm guessing it happens more often then I know. Hearing about horror stories like "Bare" Mountain makes me cringe to think that something like that could happen. The great web source community planning.net had a great quote that I thought was ideal... "If you want to know how the shoe fits, ask the person who is wearing it, not the one who made it."

I believe that municipalities have the right, as elected officials, to seek out the local community when altering/adding it. I'm sure that there are plenty of opportunities for me to be involved in local processes, but I simply do not know about them. Whose fault is that, mine or theirs? Maybe its both.... I certainly do not get off my butt and seek out opportunities to get involved in neighborhood planning decision's, but at the same time I am never made aware of anything going on. Maybe if meetings were 'jazzed up' a bit, then more people would want to participate. It think it is important that local government use resources like this website to keep current with new and exciting ways to engage the public. Maybe then, more people wearing the shoes can decide how to make them more comfortable.