On a mild sunny evening in April with the promise of spring in the air, I attended the First Place open house event at Florence Hallock School in Belle Rive. As I wandered through the empty school corridors towards the registration table, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect.
What I did know, from personal experience, was that engaging with citizens about our community can be a challenging and emotional process. I’m not talking ‘pitchforks and flaming torches’ challenging (although it may feel that way sometimes), but challenging because we all care about where we live and each have our own unique perspectives.
In my role as the leader of the City of Edmonton’s Corporate Culture Office, I’m always looking for tangible expressions of our evolving culture in the projects, programs and services we offer. On this particular evening, I had been invited to attend the open house to experience the new First Place public engagement process designed by employees in the City’s Sustainable Development department: Felicia Michie, Principal Planner in Real Estate with support from colleagues Tim McCargar, Director of Civic Property Services and Prabhat Dahal, Principal Planner. First Place is a cornerstone of the City’s strategy to ensure there’s a range of housing choices for everyone, in all areas of Edmonton. This particular program provides entry-level townhomes that allow families, young professionals and recent graduates to buy here rather than take their skills and community involvement elsewhere. First Place homes sell at regular prices, but mortgage payments are lower because the City defers the cost of the land portion of the sale for five years.
One of the cultural outcomes we are striving to achieve is “Our Work Focuses on Citizens.” This outcome flows from emerging models of public sector service where there is a trend towards citizen-centred services redesigned around the needs of end users. With this outcome in mind, I grabbed a bottle of water, plunked myself down in the school library and joined an engaged group of Belle Rive residents to learn more about the First Place program and what it means for the future of the neighbourhood.
I was immediately struck by the warm and friendly approach employed by the session facilitator who introduced Tim and provided a brief overview of what to expect from the open house. As Tim explained more about the program and then outlined the process for the evening, I realized things had changed since I last attended a town hall engagement session.
The room was divided into five distinct information ‘booths’ which each had a specific theme. For example, one focused on the First Place home builder while another concerned transportation. Each ‘booth’ featured a subject matter expert, a facilitator and someone to document the questions and issues discussed. After the Open House, these issues and questions were posted to a website so participants could share their perspectives and reference their collective knowledge.
As groups of participants homed in on the booths they were most interested in, I had a chance to sit in on a number of conversations. Some people had specific concerns about what the changes would mean for their property values, others were curious about potential increases in traffic flow or wanted to learn more about First Place eligibility criteria and what kinds of people would be joining their community.
There was, however, one common thread that weaved throughout the various interactions: they were all dialogues. Sure, some people were passionate and some were concerned but everyone was heard and everyone listened. I had a strong sense that while not everyone agreed on every issue, they certainly reached common understanding of the issues and each other’s perspectives. I also found that having the subject matter experts on hand, such as the employee from Assessment and Taxation who answered questions about property values, allowed the conversations to be more specific and fact- based.
As much as I was impressed by the richness of these interactions, there was another element of the evening that impressed me even more. This was the invitation to community residents to participate in the design of the new development to ensure it fits in, compliments and adds value to the community. For me, this is a fundamental expression of the need to recognize the importance of citizens’ participation in decision-making processes about their community. What a brilliant example of a shift towards citizen-centric approaches in our service delivery!
As the evening wound down I had an opportunity to speak with a number of the booth facilitators, participants and with Felicia. It was clear from our conversations the success of the evening was a reflection of several years of experience and learning from hosting these types of events. It was also apparent that the City and Community Leagues work closely together to ensure the open houses are a success.
What a recipe! Start with collaboration, throw in a new engagement approach, and mix some City employees who are committed to working with community members in a real and meaningful way and bam! A fantastic expression of how our evolving culture leads to our work focusing on citizens.
