Public engagement has played a central role in Metro’s most important and long-lasting efforts. This week, Metro hosted leaders from Australia and New Zealand who are studying the Portland metropolitan region to benefit their communities. They wanted to know about practical community engagement tools, what has worked and why.
The most successful examples all share one thing in common: the commitment of the region’s residents to making a great place. Involvement has traditionally come with the price tag of time, but technology is changing that, creating opportunities for quick and easy participation in decision-making. Metro has recruited more than 3,000 members so far for the Opt In online panel, which enables residents to influence decisions affecting them and their communities. With one to two surveys a month, Opt In is timely and cost-effective. The foreign delegation also learned about past endeavors. During the development of the region’s 30-year plan for high capacity transit, over 4,000 people used the online Build-a-System tool to communicate their needs to decision-makers.
Public engagement practices continue to evolve, and Metro is striving to keep learning lessons from the field and previous engagement efforts. Metro’s currently developing a new guide to craft public engagement strategies – one that assures those most affected by decisions are informed and engaged and that public involvement efforts are effective, efficient and appropriate. This work is informing early thinking for the Southwest Corridor Plan, which will include portions of Portland, Tigard and Sherwood. Over the next ten to twelve years, governments and communities will work together to create livable and sustainable communities by integrating community investments in land use and planning for high capacity transit. People will be invited to be involved through the entire process, which will kick off this summer.
The May 11 visit from the Down Under delegation was organized by First Stop Portland, a program of Portland State University’s Institute of Portland Metropolitan Studies. Metro councilors and staff frequently talk with visiting First Stop study groups about the agency’s work to promote sustainability and livability in the region.