🗞️ Navigating Wicked Problems With Dr. Martín Carcasson, Post-Pandemic City Planning With Jordan McKenzie, AICP & more!
October 16, 2024 edition
EngagingCities shares outstanding work by our network of planners and changemakers, who actively involve their communities in creating better places and a brighter future.
🔥 Fireside Chat with Martín Carcasson
Navigating Wicked Problems Through Public Dialogue and Deliberation
Dr. Martín Carcasson is a Communication Studies professor at Colorado State University (CSU) and the Founder and Director of the CSU Center for Public Deliberation (CPD). Dr. Carcasson discusses the role of CPD as an impartial resource dedicated to enhancing local democracy in northern Colorado, training students as facilitators to help discuss complex issues with local governments, school boards, and community organizations. Dr. Carcasson shares insights on tackling “wicked problems” – complex issues with no clear solutions – by changing public discourse through improved communication, community problem solving, and collaborative decision-making. Additionally, he introduces ongoing projects like the Deliberative Journalism Project and the Above the Noise initiative, which aim to foster quality local journalism and community engagement. He concludes by offering resources and guidance for those interested in adopting these deliberative practices.
Key Takeaways
⚖️ Balancing Values: Effective conversations about wicked problems require acknowledging multiple values to create a balanced approach to decision-making. This can prevent divisive outcomes and foster collaboration.
🖽 Reframing Issues: By reframing complex issues, participants can shift their perspectives, allowing for more constructive discussions. This approach can lead to innovative solutions that consider various viewpoints.
🛠️ Facilitation Tools: Utilizing discussion guides can enhance community engagement by structuring conversations and making them more productive and focused on finding solutions.
🏘️ Local Engagement: The example of school grade configuration illustrates how local issues can benefit from inclusive dialogue, highlighting the importance of community voices in decision-making.
💬 Deliberative Democracy: Initiatives like Citizens’ Assemblies emphasize the value of civic participation and deliberation, showing that informed public engagement can lead to better governance.
📰 Evolving Journalism: The need for reimagining journalism to incorporate deliberative principles indicates a shift towards creating informed communities that can engage in meaningful discourse.
“Communities need bridging institutions. We have so many institutions that tear us apart; that divide us into small groups. Social media is designed to do that. Media now has switched from broadcasting to narrow casting. That's how they make money. Most activist groups are narrow. We need to recreate and create new bridging organizations that are designed to bring people together and have the skillset to do that well.”
Dr. Martín Carcasson, Founder and Director of the CSU Center for Public Deliberation
👀 Watch or listen to the Fireside Chat.
📧 Contact Dr. Martín Carcasson on LinkedIn.
🌐 Visit the following websites for more information:
CSU Center for Public Deliberation: https://cpd.colostate.edu
Resources: https://cpd.colostate.edu/what-is-deliberation/resources
Deliberative Journalism Project: https://cpd.colostate.edu/djp
Above the Noise: https://www.rmpbs.org/above-the-noise
National Coalition for Dialogue and Deliberation: https://www.ncdd.org
National Civic League: https://www.nationalcivicleague.org
📅 Engaging Events
📌 EngagingCities Masterminds: Post-Pandemic City Planning
Seats are filling fast for our first EngagingCities Masterminds meeting! The topic is Post-Pandemic City Planning, which is about adapting city planning practices in response to lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic, including online community engagement, remote work trends, and changes in public health considerations.
We are honored to have the discussion moderated by Jordan McKenzie, AICP, TCEcD, who is the Director of Community Building and Economic Opportunity for the City of Memphis and Shelby County Community Redevelopment Agency.
These moderated online group discussions are an excellent opportunity for participants to learn from each other and solve their problems with input and advice from the other group members.
Date and time: Wednesday, October 30, 12:00 - 1:00pm MDT
Location: Zoom (link will be shared after you register)
Registration: Limited to 10 participants, so hurry and grab a seat now!
💰 $10,000 Seed Grant Opportunity
The Community Heart & Soul Seed Grant Program provides $10,000 in funding for resident-driven groups in small cities and towns to start the Community Heart & Soul model. Grant funding requires a $10,000 cash match from the participating municipality or a partnering organization.
Learn more and apply at https://www.communityheartandsoul.org/seed-grants
🚀 Fresh Insights
💡 From Childhood Needs to Urban Reality: Strategies to Engage Kids in Urban Design
This YouTube video previews the Global Designing Cities Initiative's publication, “How to Engage Kids in Street Design”, a resource offering actionable tools, methodologies, and step-by-step guidance to facilitate meaningful engagement with kids in the street design process.
— Shared by Alejandro Collia
💡 Uniting Humans and Nature Through Community-Driven Solutions
This YouTube video showcases how the City of Utrecht, Netherlands, transformed its urban landscape by removing a 12-lane motorway that had been constructed over an 800-year-old canal in the city center. This bold move marked the beginning of a people-first approach, eventually leading to a car-free city center and establishing Utrecht as a leader in green infrastructure—a model that has since been adopted by many other cities.
— Shared by Duarte Salvador Freitas Ximenes
💡 How Small-Scale Developers Can Revitalize Neighborhoods Through Local Engagement
After working in both the public and private sector in urban planning, Bryce Hembrook, AICP has often noticed a disconnect between the type of development the community says it wants versus the type of development that the community actually attracts. He believes that one way to improve this is by focusing more on encouraging and assisting local small-scale developers. Read more here.
✨ Read more fresh insights here.
💼 Job Opportunities
📎 Community Engagement Director - Triple Oak Power
📎 Director, Parks and Recreation - County of San Diego
📎 Sr. Director of Government Relations and Public Affairs - Espousal Strategies, LLC
🗃️ Find more jobs here.
🙌 Support for APA Interest Group
We believe the practice of Community Engagement should have its own Interest Group within the American Planning Association (APA) as a place to network, find inspiration, and share best practices. Help EngagingCities make the case by filling out this online form to express your support and get updates along the way. You may view the existing Divisions and Interest Groups within APA here for reference.
➡️ Visit EngagingCities.org and follow us on X and LinkedIn for more stories like these!
💬 Do you have an interesting story, event, or job to share? Interested in being a guest on our podcast? Email us at hello@engagingcities.org
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