6.0 Applications - WHERE?

"We know the rules of community; we know the healing effect of community in terms of individual lives. If we could somehow find a way across the bridge of our knowledge, would not these same rules have a healing effect upon our world?" M. Scott Peck, The Different Drum: Community-Making and Peace (Rheingold 1993: 1)

Although some new problems emerge, it appears from the analysis that using the Internet as a public participation tool is still a worthwhile venture. It must now be determined where into the planning process it fits and what types of public participation lend themselves well to Internet applications. This chapter answers the question: "Where do Internet applications fit so that problems may be avoided and benefits may be achieved?". To do this, the planning types, public participation types, and public participation program stages from section 2.1 will be analyzed for their adaptability to the Internet.

6.1 Planning Types
As identified in section 2.1, there are several forms public participation can take. Each type of planning has its own characteristics that determine whether or not an Internet application of public participation should be used.

visioning - regional (global): Visioning is a very broad and open type of planning. It is used to help to identify issues and to determine where people stand on those issues. This type of planning would lend itself well to an Internet application because of its general and broad nature. Things have not yet "heated up". Also, this is the type of planning where people often get involved in the least. If an Internet application could offer easy, accessible, fast methods of participating, more people might become involved.

community planning - community: This type of planning is more directed than visioning, however, Internet applications could still be offer benefits. Things such as email listservers could be used to keep the community connected and communicating without always requiring a face-to-face meeting. A community website could be used to provide information to the community while at the same time providing the community with a place to voice their opinions and concerns through features like surveys and online polls.

planning amendment - specifics: While this is the most directed and concentrated of the three types, it could still apply the Internet as a tool. This could take the form of online polls. They could be simple quick single questions that could give planners an idea of where the public stands on the changing of the legislation. These types of polls could also be used to let the public now what other people think by having the results of the poll readily available online.

6.2 Public Participation Types
Of the four public participation types identified in section 2.1, two would benefit from an Internet application.

exploratory - Because the issue is not yet defined and the public feels no threat of adverse action (much like Visioning Planning), it can be difficult to get people to take the time to become involved and share their views. An Internet application during this type of public participation may improve involvement by making it easier for the public to become involved. The information needed to educate the public on the facts and the methods through which to give feedback could all be online.

passive - Because this type is one-sided, information is taken or given, the Web would be an excellent way to implement this type of public participation. Information for the public could be published as a website or an online survey could be posted and advertised to aid planners in getting information from the public.

If the issue was relatively simple or straightforward, the reactive public participation could also be somewhat adapted to an Internet application. However, active public participation would require face-face meetings and workshops because of its complexity.

6.3 Public Participation Stages
The level of participation in any public program is highly issue driven. The fact is that some issues are just "hotter" than others. However, it is not always the issue but sometimes the stage of the process that determines the level of involvement. People react when they feel a direct threat to their daily lives but they tend not to be concerned when the issue being discussed does not appear to have these immediate threats.

Because of this, an Internet application of public participation would be most beneficial in the early stages of planning process. During the early stages, there are many activities that could be readily and easily adapted to the Internet. Identified in section 2.1, the following steps could benefit from Internet applications:

introduction or start-up: Planners can begin to make contact with the community through email. An initial informative brochure could be placed on the web or distributed through email.

initial data collection: Planners could distribute an email survey to determine basic information about the community. Or an online registry could be set up on the web where community members could go online and fill in all the necessary information. Also, a webpage could be posted that begins to tally this information so that residents can begin to see an outline of their community, its goals, concerns, and desires.

education: Planners could present the information about the community as well as the issue at hand in the form of a website. The public would be permitted to leave their initial comments on this website in the form of a guestbook or feedback form to help fill any gaps as well as raise any new concerns.

Internet technology access and knowledge among the general public is increasing, but it is not absolute. Statistics show high numbers of people accessing the World Wide Web and using email, but technologies like IRC and Internet video conferencing in real time are not widely used by the public. General use is rudimentary and limited to mainly information exchange through email and the Web. Because of this, a face-to-face meeting at this stage would be in order. The process is now entering the proposal stage. It is at this point that the public becomes more directly affected by the action the process takes. The public knows the background facts, they are aware of the issues, and are now ready to begin making suggestions for solutions and proposals.

However, a later stage also lends itself well to an Internet application. The final stage of evaluating could be handled online through an evaluation survey completed through either email or a website. A website could be posted summarizing the entire public participation process based on the information gathered in the early stages as well as the notes taken during the face-to-face process. Participants could then access this summary and leave their evaluation of the process online.

6.4 Results
Many factors affect what stages and types of public participation lend themselves well to an Internet application; the issue at hand, the type of planning, the level public, participation desired, the stage of the planning process, among others.

With current technology, access, knowledge, and attitudes, Internet applications will experience minimized difficulties and maximized productivity if:

 

The Internet is an applicable tool when the issues are not too intense. Because a realtime communication tool is beyond the current general public access, an Internet application is best used in lieu of paper interaction; surveys, polls, informative brochures, etc. Using the Internet as a public participation tool is best left to the simpler and more general aspects of planning. When issues greatly and immediately impact the public, face-to-face meeting will always be necessary.

6.5 Examples

Fredericton Citizen Participation On-Line
The Fredericton Citizen Participation Online project is an example of an Internet application of public participation designed for a specific issue. The site was designed by a student at the University of New Brunswick. The issue at hand is the City's proposed plan for the Residential Town Plat as well as a proposal for the use of abandoned railway lands within the area.

While the site is somewhat difficult to navigate, it does contain all the necessary information. The homepage presents a map of the area in question. The municipal plan, the proposed plans as well as slides of the railway lands can be viewed.

Feedback can be given about the Town Plot Proposed Plan through a submission form or discussion form. In the online discussion forum comments can be posted and the comments of others can be viewed. However, the "discussion" does not seem to be taking place. Few have used this tool as a method of discussion. Of the comments that have been posted, none are responding to another comment and only one person identified himself.

Overall the site is quite difficult to navigate. Options are not clearly indicated. Symbols that don't clearly reflect their use are used too often and even though it was being viewed through a high-speed cable connection, the pages took quite a while to download. The elements of an effective application are present, however, the site needs itself needs some improvement.

Rural Cape Breton District Planning Commission
The Rural Cape Breton District Planning Commission website is an excellent example of a simple yet effective form of public participation. Although the site offers limited opportunities to give feedback (limited to an email link), the information it provides is useful, thorough, complete and easy to find.

A map of Cape Breton exists on the homepage that clearly marks the jurisdiction of the Planning Commission. Towns and villages are marked on the map and are linked to pages containing their respective municipal planning strategies and land use by-laws.

There are pages that give overall introductions to land use planning, subdivision, building permits and civic addressing. A contact page provides contact information for the commission's staff. The "What's New?" page provides the most recent information on current staff reports and public hearings organized by date. Archives of the minutes of past public hearings can be accessed.

Overall the site is well organized. An improvement would be adding elements of more defined feedback options. An online survey to evaluate the site itself or a poll about a current issue would be assets.

Coastal Futures 2025
The Coastal Futures 2025 website is an experimental online town meeting from a global perspective. Its jurisdiction is all of America's coasts. It was created as part of the National Dialogues on Coastal Stewardship, which includes ten national organizations, all somehow related to coastal preservation. The site was designed to create a "global town hall" and promote discussion among those concerned about the future of the American coastline.

The website provides not only information pertinent to the issues facing American coasts but also a lot of information about the background of the site itself, how to use it, and what is hoped to be achieved.

The homepage has organized the many issues facing the coast. Instructions clearly state that the user is to select a topic, view the vision created by the National Dialogues Council, provide opinions, add comments, and view the opinions of others. Also available is the current results of the study in the form of a pdf file that can be downloaded.

This project provides background information as well as opportunities to respond (both in a structured and unstructured way), view the opinions of others, and review the summarized results.

The website centres around a very open and broad topic. It does effectively provide an opportunity for the global (specifically American) public to voice their concerns for the state of their coastlines.

Generally, the examples show the strategies in place to begin to use the Internet as a tool public participation. They are proof that an Internet application need not be elaborate or complex to be effective. If programs are well designed, well organized, and well advertised, they will be successful, useful, and productive.

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