July 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 44

Simulation-Based
Public
Engagement
W
ith the rise in remote work, digital nomads are relocating
and prioritizing places that offer great amenities - particularly,
desirable parks and recreation.
The National Community Survey by Polco, an assessment
that measures resident opinions about their cities, confirms that parks
and walking trails are a top priority. No matter how many outdoor activities
a city offers, residents want more, a preference that even holds true
in communities already excelling in providing abundant green space and
walking trails. This raises the stakes for local governments to stay attuned
to what residents want from their park and recreation departments, as well
as their willingness to pay for those amenities.
Rethinking Public
Engagement
Some cities are going beyond the typical
public meeting process to gather
input using new digital tools, including
interactive
online simulations
(sometimes called scenario planning).
More cities are finding that the
public wants to provide input on tax
increases, service reductions and priorities
- including for their park and
recreation services. For park and recreation
leaders, public engagement
skills are becoming an increasingly
important competency.
Public meetings are the status quo
of local government public engage44
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| PARK S ANDRECRE AT ION . OR G
ment but are proving inadequate for
modern community engagement requirements.
They're typically poorly
attended or serve to inflate the
concerns of a few individuals rather
than provide balanced and inclusive
community input.
High-quality, valid surveying
techniques ensure everyone's voices
are heard, whether they participate
in online or face-to-face public
engagement activities. Surveys are
especially useful at the beginning
of the process when trying to understand
satisfaction. In addition,
surveys
produce
benchmarking
data so cities and towns can comprovide
and
How
to use public participation to design and fund a community's dream park
By Chris Adams, Liz Carey-Linskey and Hillary De La Cruz
pare themselves to their peers.
But while surveys can show
overall priorities, they don't educate
or account for the costs of providing
services, which is why some
communities also are leveraging
interactive online
simulation
tools accessible to anyone with
a connected digital device. The
tools
stakeholders
with
graphic-rich interactive pages to
gather input quickly and easily
on a variety of questions, such as
priorities and a willingness to pay
for certain amenities and services.
Simulation-based public engagement
tools also are an instructive and
constructive way to test scenarios,
whether designing a new park within
a constrained budget or determining
what residents are willing to pay
through a ballot initiative. These efforts
help establish two-way communication
with residents and increase
transparency
problem-solving
as a community. Here are two examples
of communities using
simulation-based public engagement
to determine priorities for park and
July 2023 - Parks & Recreation

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