Augmenting public participation: enhancing planning outcomes through the use of social media and web 2.0

Abstract

Social media and web 2.0 tools offer opportunities to devise novel participation strategies that can engage previously difficult to reach, as well as new, segments of society in urban planning. This paper examines participatory planning in the four local government areas of Brisbane City Council, Gold Coast City Council, Redland City Council and Toowoomba Regional Council, all situated in South East Queensland, Australia. The paper discusses how social media and web 2.0 tools can deliver a more engaging planning experience to citizens and investigates local government's current use and receptiveness to social media tools for plan-making and community engagement. The study's research informed the development of criteria to assess the level of participation reached through the current use of social media and web 2.0 in the four local government areas. This resulted in an adaptation of the International Association for Public Participation (IAP2) Toolbox to integrate these new tools, which is being presented to encourage further discussion and evaluation by planning professionals.

Keywords:

• participatory planning
• social media
• community engagement
• augmented deliberation
• urban informatics
• South East Queensland

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank all study participants who kindly agreed to be interviewed. Special thanks to Laurel Johnson, Associate Lecturer in Planning at the University of Queensland, for the tremendous support and valuable feedback throughout the supervision of Joel's Honours study.