Public transportation is open to all — except when it’s not. Amtrak may kick you off if you stink, and the Montgomery County bus may eject you for engaging in unwanted conversation. Whether traveling by train, taxi, bus, subway, or aircraft, public transportation providers set a host of restrictions about who can travel and on […]
A Brief History of Public Participation in Urban Planning
This post is Part 2 of my public participation in urban planning series, adapted from my urban planning final paper, Citizen Participation and the Internet in Urban Planning. In order to describe the potential uses of the Internet in public participation in planning, this section will begin with a short history of public participation in […]
Bank, Commission, Capital Budget, or Business as Usual?
My latest Planetizen post: Getting the Transportation Infrastructure We Need
How Obama Did It
It involved hire a “drama-free” team, getting millionaire fund raisers to sell $3 key chains, and building an organization that reflected his personality — not the bad habits of the party establishment. It also meant technology — according to Dean campaign manager Joe Trippi, “the Dean campaign was like the Wright brothers. Four years later, […]
The Wrong Way the Solicit Participation on the Web
I noticed two flawed attempts to solicit public participation on the web recently. First, on Tuesday Hillary Clinton said the following during her nationally televised speech: “Now the question is, where do we go from here … But this has always been your campaign, so to the 18 million people who voted for me and […]
Urban Planning and E-Government
This post is Part 1 of my public participation in urban planning series, adapted from my urban planning final paper, Citizen Participation and the Internet in Urban Planning, which received the University of Maryland Urban Studies and Planning Larry Reich Award for Best Final Paper. Since the advent of information technology, there has been intense […]
‘I Will Be the Democratic Nominee for President’
“Let us unite in common effort to chart a new course for America.” — Barack Obama, June 3, 2008, St. Paul, Minnesota “The most important thing we can do right now is to reengage the American people in the process of governance. To get them excited and interested again in what works, and what can […]