Essential Methods for Planning Practitioners

Abstract

This “methods” chapter discusses approaches that are related to the earliest stages of the planning process. As we stress the importance of communication, we start with the Delphi method as a precursor to e-democracy efforts. Traditionally, the domain of expert plan making and forecasting, the Delphi method can now be seen as bridging the gap between experts and non-experts. This naturally leads to a discussion of top-down vs. bottom-up approaches and the role of bias dealing with either community. We included a discussion about other structured participation methods, highlighting their benefits and limitations. While there still is a place for analog and face-to-face techniques, contemporary planning takes place in a new media landscape and with a citizenry with variable digital competencies. In this context, the bulk of our envisioning techniques deals with large, heterogeneous groups. In our attempt to incorporate as many different perspectives as possible, we reflect on citizen science, crowdsourcing, and participatory mapping in addition to conventional GIS analytical techniques. Yet we also discuss how the perspective of individuals can be captured through digital storytelling and photovoice methods. Both these approaches (and others discussed in the chapter) can be used in framing planning questions as well as in plan implementation.