This weeks readings, as well as Prof Mitra's comments in class made me think about how, as a city planner, one manages to balance community engagement when community is such a fuzzy term. If I'm attempting to execute a participatory planning process at what scale do I frame my search for stakeholders and across what period of time? In a planning process, while identifying and involving stakeholders is the gold standard of inclusive planning, it can also be a tool for exclusion - keeping people out of the process who we or others don't deem important.
There was recently a great NPR bit on being part of a group/community/club and what that can mean. Me sense is that there needs to be checks and balances. Citywide policies that guide generally, professionals that can pull in back-up if a participatory process becomes small minded. I don't really have it worked out, I just know - wicked problems.
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