How can you involve local communities in urban mobility and accessibility planning?

1 Benefits of community involvement

Involving local communities in urban mobility and accessibility planning can bring a variety of advantages for both planners and residents. For instance, it can increase the acceptance and ownership of proposed solutions, as the communities can communicate their needs, preferences, and concerns to co-create the solutions with the planners. Furthermore, it can improve the quality and effectiveness of the solutions by providing valuable insights, feedback, and suggestions based on their local knowledge and experience. Additionally, it can foster social cohesion and trust between the communities and planners by allowing them to participate in a collaborative and transparent process. Lastly, it can enhance the sustainability and resilience of the solutions by encouraging community contribution to maintenance, monitoring, and improvement of the solutions.

2 Methods of community involvement

When it comes to involving local communities in urban mobility and accessibility planning, there are various methods and tools available, depending on the purpose, scope, and stage of the process. Surveys and interviews can be used to collect quantitative and qualitative data from the communities. Workshops and focus groups can be employed to facilitate dialogue and interaction between the communities and planners. Events and campaigns can help raise awareness among the communities, while platforms and networks can create communication and collaboration between them. Creative formats such as exhibitions, demonstrations, games, or competitions can also be used to attract people's attention. Finally, existing or new networks such as associations, groups, or committees can be utilized to mobilize the communities for urban mobility and accessibility planning.

3 Challenges of community involvement

Involving local communities in urban mobility and accessibility planning can present some challenges that need to be addressed. It can be time-consuming and costly, as it requires planning, preparation, implementation, and evaluation of the involvement activities, as well as the allocation of adequate resources and staff. It can also be difficult to reach and represent diverse or marginalized groups, such as women, children, elderly, disabled, low-income, or ethnic minorities. Furthermore, it can be complex to manage and balance the different interests, opinions, and expectations of the communities and to ensure a fair, inclusive, and transparent process. Finally, it is risky to raise unrealistic expectations among the communities that may not be fulfilled.

4 Best practices of community involvement

To maximize the benefits of involving local communities in urban mobility and accessibility planning, it is important to follow certain best practices. This includes defining the purpose and scope of the involvement, communicating it openly and clearly to the communities, and targeting and engaging relevant and diverse groups. The communities should be involved throughout the entire planning process, from initial problem identification to final solution implementation. Additionally, it is important to provide continuous feedback and follow up, as well as monitor and evaluate the involvement process and outcomes. This will help improve the quality of the involvement activities, as well as measure the satisfaction and impact of the communities.

5 Examples of community involvement

To illustrate how you can involve local communities in urban mobility and accessibility planning, here are some successful and innovative projects that have done so. In Cascais, Portugal, the SUMP (Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan) participatory process engaged more than 3,000 citizens and stakeholders in the development of a strategic plan for urban mobility. The Bike Kitchen project in Malmö, Sweden, used a bottom-up and empowerment approach to involve a group of local residents in creating and managing a community bike workshop. In Ghent, Belgium, the Living Streets project invited and facilitated residents to design and implement their own interventions to improve the quality and attractiveness of their streets. These projects demonstrate how local communities can be empowered to shape their own urban mobility plans.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?