M any local park directors and community leaders strugglewithlowattendanceandparticipation at events inviting citizen input. Because public involvement is vital to democracy, governmental leaders needtofindnewwaystogiveavoicetoeveryoneinterestedin a topic, issue, or decision.

Thetopreasonsthatpeoplecitefornotparticipatingincommunityengagementactivitiesarelackoftimeandotherpriorities.Also,citizensoftenthinkpublicmeetingsareboring,andthesessionsusuallyprovidefewopportunitiesforinteraction.Communityleadersmustalsocontendwithlimitedfundsandstaffwhentryingtoprovideopportunitiesforallcitizenstocontribute.

Overcoming barriers to participationCityandparksleadersneedtohostactivitiesthatengagethe participants and encourage two-way communication. TheResource Guide on Public Engagement describes 22 types ofpublicengagementactivities,includingconversationcafes,issuesforums,andstudycircles.

Designyouractivitiestofitthesituationorcommunity.Theguidelinesbelowcanhelpyougathermeaningfulcontributionsfromallpublicsectors:

‣ Setacleargoalforgettingcitizeninput. ‣ Make sure that the participants are diverse and

representativeofthecommunity. ‣ Craftconsistentandclearquestions. ‣ Select engaging and interactive activities that support

your goal. ‣ Pilot test your process. ‣ Provideanadequatenumberofwell-trainedstaff. ‣ Holdeventsinallareasofyourcommunity,and

schedulethematdifferenttimesanddays. ‣ Chooseavarietyofsitesthatresidentsofdifferent

neighborhoods visit regularly. ‣ Use social media when appropriate. ‣ Encourage all to contribute to the discussion. ‣ Understand your limitations. ‣ Plan to systematically collect, enter, and analyze the

data, and report the results regularly.

Theworksheetsbeginningonthenextpagecanhelpyouincreasecitizenengagementandreachabroaderrangeofcitizens by meeting with people at community places that areapartoftheirdailylives.

Encouraging Citizen Input on Parks: Getting Out of the Boardroom

By Jamie Rae Walker¹ and Suzanne Landau²

ERPT-01510/16

Klyde Warren ParkDallas, Texas

¹AssistantProfessorandExtensionSpecialist–UrbanandMunicipalParks;²GraduateAssistant,TexasA&MDepartmentofRecreation,ParkandTourismSciences;TheTexasA&MUniversitySystem;PhotobyDanielLobo(CCBY2.0)

Goals ‣ Connectwithcitizensatlocationsaroundthe

community ‣ Improve communication between parks

department representatives and local citizens ‣ Determine the citizens’ activities in parks and

recreationfacilities

LocationsWithapprovalfromthefacilityowners,hostactivitysessions at local parks, shops, grocery stores, or gas stationsinvariousareasofthecommunity.Schedulethemat various locations, days, and times.

Activity stationsSetupfourstationsneardifferententrancesofthespaceorbuilding.AtStations1,2,and3,postquestionsonlarge laminated posters on which participants can write their answers. At Station 4, allow the participants to talk withparkandrecreationstaff.Usetrainedfacilitatorsto interact with participants and probe them about their responses(Fig.1).

Supplies ‣ 3laminatedposterswithprintedquestions ‣ 3to6signsexplainingtheprocess ‣ Brochures about the park department ‣ Cameratocapturepheotosoftheresponseslisted

on the posters ‣ Clipboards/paper/pensfortakingnotes ‣ Laminatedmapoftheparksystem ‣ Markers ‣ Planforaccommodatingpeoplewithspecialneeds ‣ Signsindicatingthatparksstaffersareavailablefor

questions ‣ Table and chairs ‣ Tape or another adhesive to hold the maps and

posters to the wall ‣ Towels and spray to erase the posters as needed

Strengths ‣ Nottimeconsumingforparticipants ‣ Createsconnectionsbetweenparkstaffand

residents ‣ Activityisinformal,notintimidating ‣ Createsopportunitiestoconnectwithabroader

arrayofresidents ‣ Providesopportunitiesfordialogue

Limitations ‣ Timingmaybeinconvenientforsomepeople ‣ Difficulttoengageshy/quietpeople(Theymight

just walk past.) ‣ Lessfocusedthanotherengagementactivities ‣ Randomtimesaremoredifficultforintentional

visitors ‣ Some participants may not live in the community ‣ Currentseason/weathercouldinfluenceresponses

Station 1What recreation or leisure activities do you participate in?

Station 3What recreation and leisure activities would you like to be able to do in the future?

Station 2What parks or recreation

facilities and programs do you use? Why?

Station 4Ask us questions...

Park staff will be available to answer questions.

Connecting with Citizens Outside the Box

Figure 1. Activity stations

Goals ‣ Connectwithandimprovecommunication

between citizens and parks department representatives

‣ Determinetheactivitiesofcitizensatparksandrecreationfacilities

ActivitiesHoldsixsocialmediaactivities,eachusingaquestion(Fig.2),viaTwitterandFacebook.Infouractivities,simplyaskfollowerstoreplytothepostedquestions.Thefifthisaquestion-and-answeractivity.Determinethetimesandmethodsforresponding.

Forthelastactivity,askparticipantstouploadpicturesandpostinformationonwhatmakestheareasimportantto them.

Supplies/support ‣ Social media accounts ‣ Stafftopostandmonitoraccounts ‣ Scheduleforpostingquestions

Strengths ‣ Not time-consuming ‣ Easyfor“followers”toparticipate ‣ Saves time, money, gas, etc. ‣ Activityisinformal,notintimidating ‣ Createsopportunitiestoconnectwithabroader

arrayofresidents

Limitations ‣ Timingmightbeinconvenientforsomepeople ‣ Some users might not check social media during

thistimeframe ‣ Users might hold back since screen names are

associated with replies ‣ Lessfocusedthanotherengagementactivities ‣ Nonresidents may participate ‣ Feedbackmightbeskewedbyseason ‣ Limitedtothosewhousesocialmediaoutletsand

are connected to these accounts

Activity 1What recreation or leisure activities do you participate in?

Activity 3Why do you use park and recreation facilities and programs?

Activity 2What parks or recreation facilities

and programs do you use?

Activity 4What recreation and leisure

activities would you like to be able to do in the future?

Activity 5Do you have a question about the PARD?

We will take questions through Friday and respond by next Wednesday.

Activity 6Share a picture of a park or

recreation facility you use for recreation or leisure.

What makes this place or space valuable to you?

Figure 2. Social media activities

Connecting with Citizens on Social Media

Goals ‣ Connectwithandimprovecommunication

between citizens and parks department representatives

‣ Determinetheactivitiesofcitizensinparksandrecreationfacilities

‣ Understandthevalueoflocalsitestocitizens

ActivitiesWelcome: Explainthecitizeninputprocess,itsvalue,andtheusesplannedfortheinformationreceived.

Instructions1. Reviewthecommunitymappingactivityand

remindtheattendeesthatparkandrecreationstaffersaretheretoanswerquestionsordiscussparks,facilities,andprograms.

2. Give each participant a packet containing a short worksheetandtwosheetsofdots.

3. Haveafacilitatorconfirmthattheattendeescanfindkeylocalsitesonthemaps.

4. Ask the participants to stick green dots on places inthecommunitythattheyuseforrecreationandleisure.Thesefacilitiesdonotneedtobejustthosethat the city provides.

5. Havetheattendeeswriteontheirworksheets:6. How you use these places? 7. What about these places makes them valuable to

youforleisureandrecreation?8. How do these places contribute to your everyday

life?9. Givetheseinstructions:Usingthepurpledots,

markthreespecificplacesthatarevaluabletoyouforrecreationandleisure(okaytomarkalocationpreviouslyidentifiedinthefirststepwiththegreendots).

10. Have the participants write on their worksheets whyeachplace/spaceisvaluabletothem.

Parksstaffandfacilitationpersonnelshouldbeonhandto discuss the places and recreation activities with the participantsandanswerquestionsorprovideguidanceasthey complete the process. Note: Make accommodations forthosewithdisabilities.

Supplies ‣ Packetsforeachparticipantcontaining50green

dots, 3 purple dots, and a worksheet ‣ Numberandletterthedotstoenablethe

participants to correlate the data on the maps with their worksheet responses.

‣ Clipboards ‣ Pens ‣ Two9-footby5-footmapsmarkedwiththe

community’s major streets and its parks and recreationfacilities

Strengths ‣ Not time-consuming ‣ Activityisinformal,notintimidating ‣ Interactive

Limitations ‣ Feedbackmightbeskewedbytheseason ‣ Some individuals may struggle with mapping

activities ‣ Some people may not remember some sites

Adapted fromO, Say Can You See: A Visual Awareness Toolkit for

Communities. By M. Maguire. Scenic America. 1999.Mapping Special Attributes in Survey Research for Natural

Resource Management.ByG.Brown.UniversityofSouthAustralia.2004.

Hand Made Tokyo: Document of the Tokyo Mapping Workshop.TokyoUniversityofAgriculture.http://a-small-lab.com/projects/hand-made-tokyo.2010.

Community Mapping

Part 1: Landmark use ‣ Pleasemakesurethatyoucanidentifyalandmarkorintersectiononthemap. ‣ Listtheplacesinthecommunitythatyouuseforrecreationandleisure. ‣ Below,explainhow/whyyouusetheseplaces/spacesforrecreationorleisure. ‣ Please tag each place on the map using the green dots provided.

Part 2: Landmark value ‣ Usingyourthreepurpledots,pleasemarkthreeplacesinthecommunitythatarevaluabletoyourrecreation/

leisure(okaytomarkthosethatyouidentifiedwiththegreendots). ‣ Below,pleaseindicatethevaluethateachplaceorspacecontributestoyoureverydaylife.

A. B. C. D.

E. F. G. H. I.

J. K.

A. B. C.

Place that you use for recreation and leisure Value that this place contributes to your everyday life

Place that you use for recreation and leisure How or why you use this place

Community MappingActivity Sheet

Additional Resources“CoreValuesforthePracticeofPublicParticipation.”

InternationalAssociationforPublicParticipation.http://www.iap2.org/?page=A4

“DeliberativeCivicEngagementinPublicAdministrationandPolicy.”ByT.Nabatchi.2014.Journal of Public Deliberation, 10(1),Article21.Availableat:http://www.publicdeliberation.net/jpd/vol10/iss1/art21

“DirectPublicEngagementinLocalGovernment.”ByT.NabatchiandL.Amsler.2014.American Review of Public Administration.DOI:10.1177/0275074013519702

Dynamic Citizen Input Activities. TexasA&MAgriLifeExtensionService.2012.AgriLife.org/urbanparks/

Everyone Counts: Could Participatory Budgeting Change Democracy?ByJ.Lerner.2014.Ithaca,NY:CornellUniversity Press

Focus on Citizens: Public Engagement for Better Policy and Services. OrganisationforEconomicCo-operationandDevelopment(n.d.)http://www19.iadb.org/intal/intalcdi/pe/2009/03785.pdf

Framework Driven Citizen Input Processes.ByS.LandauandJ.R.Walker.TexasA&MAgriLifeExtensionService.AgriLife.org/urbanparks/

Going to the People and Getting the Feedback You Need. Slide presentationbytheTexasA&MAgriLifeExtensionService.2013.AgriLife.org/urbanparks/

Helping America Talk: How We Can Improve Public Discourse. ByJ.Prudhomme.2012.InteractivityFoundation.Availableat:http://www.interactivityfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/Helping-America-talk-web-version-Oct-2012.pdf

Making Democracy Fun: How Game Design Can Empower Citizens and Transform Politics.ByJ.Lerner.2014.Cambridge,MA:MITPress.

Resource Guide on Public Engagement.NationalCoalitionforDialogueandDeliberation.2010.

“VarietiesofParticipationinComplexGovernance.”ByA.Fung.2006.Public Administration Review, 66,66–75.

Texas A&M AgriLife Extension ServiceAgriLifeExtension.tamu.edu

More Extension publications can be found at AgriLifeBookstore.org

Texas A&M AgriLife Extension provides equal opportunities in its programs and employment to all persons, regardless of race, color, sex, religion, national origin, disability, age, genetic information, veteran status, sexual orientation, or gender identity.

New

For help in creating a citizen input process or other information on parks, contact your local county agent or Extension specialist at counties.AgriLife.org/

or rpts.tamu.edu/extension-programs.

The top reasons that people cite for not participating in community engagement activities are

lack of time and other priorities.