Towards Inclusive Community Engagement: Engaging Marginalized Residents in the Urban Planning Process
Year: 2017
Type: dissertation
Abstract: The increasing diversity of Canadian communities presents a challenge to municipalities as planners are called upon to lead inclusive public engagement programs. This thesis identifies current engagement tools developed by Ontario municipalities to increase the diversity of citizen participation in urban planning processes, and evaluates how well they are implemented in practice. An online review of policies from twelve municipalities was conducted, followed by interviews with staff representing four municipalities. The research findings demonstrate that traditional engagement mechanisms, such as public meetings, are still commonly used by municipalities; however, planners are increasingly expanding their engagement toolbox in order to remove barriers to participation, and in turn reach an audience that more accurately reflects the population. The extent to which these modern engagement tools are resulting in processes and outcomes that are more inclusive and representative of the community is difficult to determine because most municipalities do not yet track participant demographics.
Source: TSpace (University of Toronto)
Author: Amanda Crompton
Language: English
Subfield: Geography, Planning and Development
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2783643418