Collaborative Planning Builds Trust

A Collaborative Planning Process That Can Build Trust
	Can distrusting neighbors, developers, and city planners learn to work well together? Yes. Years of research done by the Smarter Land Use Project show that even if the relationships between neighbors, developer, and city officials are initially distrusting or even litigious, all parties are generally willing to try an informal, step-by-step, collaborative planning process, particularly if it is hosted by residents from the adjoining neighborhood. Our research shows that when each party sees how collaborative planning can benefit them and how it works, they are usually able to set aside their adversarial roles and participate with enthusiasm. See Successes for several examples of stakeholder confrontation turning into productive collaboration.
	How does collaborative planning work? By improving stakeholder relationships and evaluating the neighborhood surrounding the proposed project using hands-on, project-modeling techniques, the collaborative planning process identifies and places community-enhancing features in the proposed development. Emphasizing a team approach, collaborative planning usually reveals numerous, cost effective ways that both the project and the surrounding neighborhood can be improved. The team is composed of neighbors, the developer, and the city planner. Chapter 2 of the Collaborative Land Use Planning guidebook details the steps for succeeding..
	What kinds of community-enhancing features can be included in project plans? Public greens, recreational facilities, affordable housing, architecture in the best character of the existing neighborhood, wildlife sanctuaries, and walkways through the project from adjacent neighborhoods directly to important destinations are just a few of the possibilities. Dozens more are listed on the Checklist of Community-Enhancing Features. Each neighborhood and project has its own specific needs, so community-enhancing features are selected and included on a project-by-project basis. The focus of collaborative planning is to maximize improvement to the community..