By Azra Thakur
Over at On the Commons, David Motzenbecker writes about public engagement from his experience as the President of the Minneapolis Planning Commission and how approaching engagement from a "commons," participatory perspective can help bring the "best ideas" to fruition. Motzenbocker writes:
A commons-based process builds early and cross-jurisdictional collaborations to shape a shared vision. The best ideas do not always come from a lone genius or experts, but rather are an amalgam of many ideas nurtured together.
In his presentation of public engagement, Motzenbecker posits that public processes are typically unidirectional and expert-driven in nature. Processes often exclude the public from the engagement process by presenting limited amounts of information to them during public proceedings. Motzenbecker contends that this should change--by providing increased access to information there can be increased engagement between the public and experts with outcomes that are truly more "commons"-oriented in nature.
Motzenbecker presents three case studies of applications where ideas from a commons-based approach are integrated with web technology (through the innovative use of wikis) and applied to public engagement in planning scenarios. Alongside the main blog post, there is a second enlightening essay on "The New Tools for a Revival of Public Engagement," a list of twelve suggestions or "tools" to consider in public engagement.
Motzenbecker's two entries on public engagement offer a refreshing, technology-savvy viewpoint on how promoting participatory, collaborative public engagement can lead to more fruitful, mutually beneficial resolutions.
Click here to read David's entries on public engagement.
No responses to “David Motzenbecker: On the Commons”