Community: Richmond, CA (Contra Costa County) Population: 104,513

Summary:

In 2008, the City of Richmond updated it’s General Pan to include economic development; education; public facilities and infrastructure; and arts, culture, and historic resources. The City of Richmond has used many techniques to engage the public in creating this document.

Program Highlights:

• The City held ongoing community meetings, small group discussions, and meetings with the City’s youth.
• The City used an online engagement and planning tool, called Townsquare to complement traditional outreach methods.

Resources to Learn More:

• Go to www.migtownsquare.com/Content/10047/preview.html

The Rest of the Story…

The City of Richmond used many techniques to engage the public in it’s General Plan update. The City held ongoing community meetings, small group discussions, and meetings with the City’s youth. The City also utilized a “Plan Van” to bring the discussion to the streets. The City also held discussions with the neighborhood and civic association and promoted outreach and education about the General Plan to others in the community.

The City used Townsquare, which is an online engagement and planning tool, to complement traditional community outreach methods. The software includes a document manager, an email notification administration, a news and events coordinator, a survey creator, and a content manager. All of these tools are designed to make the process more accessible to more people and easier to view and edit for the organizers.

Case story provided by Common Sense California (www.commonsenseca.org). Richmond is a grantee of Common Sense California’s 2008 Citizen Engagement Grant Program.