Groundwater solutions require a sharing or transfer of visioning and decision-making from traditional authorities to neighborhood residents impacted by proposed neighborhood changes.
Below are some planning tools that enable this transfer of authority:
Community Asset Mapping
Asset mapping is a process that brings community members together to identify strengths and resources within your commu
nity can be leveraged to address a particular problem. An asset can be a person, place, service, or set of skills.
In addition to identifying community resources available to tackle an issue, research has found that the process advances social capital through linking individuals with different talents and skill sets. i
In general, the process looks at a particular issue and asks:
What community organizations and institutions might be partners or contributors, or may already be supporting resident needs?
What skills or strengths among the resident community that might be relevant?
Who are other people in the community who care about the issues and priorities or could be involved?
What financial, physical, or social resources can we call on to support this work?
Planning for PSE changes requires research into current conditions and possible solutions. Participatory Action Research (PAR) is “a way to do research with and for communities that emphasizes community participation in conducting the research and action as as a result of it.” ii
PAR approach is founded on two concepts:
“the people who are most impacted by a problem are in the best position to understand and solve that problem”, and
“the best way of understanding a complex problem is by trying to solve it” ii
Since PAR adapts methods from other fields like community organizing, popular education, public health, and community development there isn’t an established way of doing this type of work.
The Healthy Neighborhoods Study has released a PAR Field Guidedescribing how they do PAR in 9 communities in Greater Boston. For those curious about PAR, this is a great place to begin to explore the tool.
Photovoice
Photovoice is a popular participatory research tool. In Photovoice projects, research participants capture images that bring to life the experiences, values, challenges and opportunities of vulnerable communities. These images are data that can be used to drive planning initiatives. Photovoice also creates awareness and can bring people towards action.
In collaborative or participatory design workshops, key stakeholders that include technical experts, decision-makers, and residents with local knowledge, vision and passion come together with design professionals to co-create a detailed plan or vision for change. The goal of these processes is establishing a holistic understanding of a complex problem that leads to a plan with true buy-in from all. i
These types of planning processes improve linking social capital as they create opportunities for community members to interact with administration and institutions in a facilitated environment where no one dominates. i
A charrette is a particular type of design workshop that spans multiple days with several feedback loops. They typically last four or more days.
For those interested in learning more, the American Planning Association has resources on using Charrettes to build trust and collaboration among community members and decision makers. The Environmental Protection Agency has also released a Public Participation Guide on Charrettes.
Citations
iSemenza, Jan C. “Lateral Public Health: A Comprehensive Approach to Adaptation in Urban Environments.” Climate Change Adaptation in Developed Nations: From Theory to Practice, edited by James D. Ford and Lea Berrang-Ford, Springer Netherlands, 2011, pp. 143–59, doi:10.1007/978-94-007-0567-8_10