THE ACCESS ALMANAC: Common Ground

THE ACCESS ALMANAC Common Ground KAREN TRAPENBERG FRICK W ith political polarization hindering progress in public policy and meaningful engagement at all levels of government, now is a good time to reflect on how we run public participation processes. How do legislative requirements—like those for the regional planning process in California— help or hinder meaningful public engagement? What are the biggest challenges and opportunities for improving public engagement? Public process design is critical when participants are ideologically divided and do not trust each other or the public agencies in charge. In these cases, it is important to seek common ground. For example, all participants in a process may not agree on whether climate change exists, but they might agree that electric and hybrid vehicles should pay their fair share of road costs. They may not be able to agree on whether high-density development is beneficial, but they could pursue joint fact-finding to assess its effects on property rights, property values, and public services like schools, police and fire departments. ➢ Karen Trapenberg Frick is Co -Director of the UC Transportation Center (UCTC) and Assistant Director of the UC Transportation Center on Economic Competitiveness in Transportation (UCCONNECT). She also is Assistant Adjunct Professor in the Department of City and Regional Planning at the University of California, Berkeley (kfrick@berkeley.edu). A C C E S S NUMBER 47, FALL 2015