Panel organized for the RECAST conference in Santa Fe, marking the 20th anniversary of the public process that created the Santa Fe Railyard Redevelopment. Panelists included: Joel Mills, Cheryl Morgan, Erin Simmons, and Thea Crum. The panel explored issues facing cities today and multiple democratic methodologies (participatory budgeting, democratic urbanism) for city building.

1. Democratizing the RECAST City

2. Our Reality: Every week, 1.4
million people move into cities
across the globe.

3. The Global Crisis
As the World Economic Forum has noted, “Cities are evolving faster than at
any point in our history, putting them on the cusp of major transformation
which, if managed well, could lead to unprecedented economic growth and
prosperity for all, but if managed in an uncoordinated manner could drive
social, economic and environmental decline.”
Urbanization
Rising Inequality
Housing
Affordability
Climate Change
Mobility
Urban Systems

4. Global Democratic Crisis

5. We need to change our orientation to
the public
• Most of our biggest challenges as
professionals relate to democracy & scale,
not technical issues. Process vs. Math

6. The field has a 50-yr tradition to build
upon…

7. The citizen architect
“To get to the future from where we are now, we must make
room for, and nurture, what I call the “citizen architect.” What
does this citizen architect look like? This person is committed
to universal enfranchisement, and works to see that everyone
in the community is given a meaningful stake in, and a part in
directing, the future. The citizen architect is committed to
seeing that, at the drafting table, the public’s hand exerts at
least as much force as the developer’s or banker’s. The
practice of architecture must no longer be seen as a luxury
that only the wealthy can afford. The public must be a vital
part of the process. Architecture is the most public of the arts.
It should be collaborative.” - Ted Pappas, President of the AIA,
1988, at the Remaking Cities Conference

8. The Whitney Young Challenge
“you are not a profession that has distinguished
itself by your social and civic contributions to
the cause of civil rights, and I am sure this has
not come to you as any shock. You are most
distinguished by your thunderous silence and
your complete irrelevance.”
– Whitney Young, Jr., to the 1968 AIA
Convention, Portland, Oregon

9. “The biggest problem is the understanding of what
urban design is… the urban community has become
lost in strategic planning, masterplanning, zoning and
landscaping … All these have their own purposes, of
course – but they don’t address the principal
question, which is the relationship in a city between
public space and buildable space. This is the art and
science of building cities – and until we recover this
basic knowledge, we will continue to make huge
mistakes … Huge mistakes.” – Joan Clos, UNHABITAT

10. It’s a simple truth, and this is so important: The
world needs design leadership, now more than
ever. The world needs architects. Your time is
now.
Sao Paulo, Brazil

11. There is no top-down solution here
“Zoning, along with other NIMBY-inspired housing
and land-use regulations, might be the great
invisible problem of modern America.”

12. Federal Inadequacy
“Local leaders who need help no longer have
any business traveling to Washington. The
nation’s capital has become the site of photo
ops, pep talks, news conferences and little else.
As Washington fades into the background, the
rest of the nation is engaging in a great
experiment — can a country successfully invest
in its future without the national government
being a relevant player?” – Bruce Katz, 2014

13. Professionals vs. the Public

14. “This seems obvious enough—new development faces less
neighborhood resistance when the neighborhood is included
in the process from the git-go. But this means more than just
holding public hearings, which are dominated by organized
neighborhood groups as opposed to average residents.”

15. It doesn’t have to be that way…
“They had ideas that we will incorporate on the
waterfront and the park. We give them credit for working
hard and diligently on the site. We’re going to look at it
strongly and we think the job will be a tremendous
success.” –Donald Trump, 1990s, following an AIA project

16. Dialogue educates and informs

17. Jim Fishkin & the Science of P2

18. The real issue: The Expectations Gap
What
Government/Organizations
Want
What the Public Wants

19. Example – NYC World Trade Center
• Listening to the City brought
more than 4,300 people together
on July 2, 2002
• Key problem: Sponsoring
agencies (Lower Manhattan
Development Corporation and
the Port Authority)wanted
feedback on designs, and public
wanted input on design. (Consult
vs. Collaborate) Outcome: Public
rejected all of existing designs
and sent the entire initiative back
to the drawing board.

20. • National League of Cities survey of U.S. Cities (2010) - 81
percent use public engagement processes "often" (60 percent) or
"sometimes" (21 percent)
• American Planning Association (2012) – “More than 50 percent
want to personally be involved in community planning efforts,
including more than half of Democrats, Republicans, and
independents as well as majorities of urban, suburban, and rural
respondents.”
• Center for Public Interest Design (2013) – 75% of AIA members
think that architects should advocate for underrepresented
groups, engage local stakeholders in decision-making, and
conserve resources.
The Data: 3 Compelling Points

21. 2014 Survey on IAP2 Spectrum

22. A Failure of Democracy
2014 International City/County Management Association (ICMA) Survey

23. Stakeholder Identification
Successful p2 includes identifying ALL of the
stakeholders on the bell and involving them.

24. How Planning Conflicts Get Framed

25. The Fight for Urban Democracy
autocrats: Public Relations
• Sponsors decide on a course of
action and then attempt to sell
it to the public.
• people can feel manipulated
and suspicious
• often hinders them from
thinking effectively about
problems and challenges
because it avoids exposing
them to the full dialogue.
• PR seeks “buy-in”
democrats: Public Participation
• Sponsors engage public on the
front end in dialogue to help
understand the pros and cons
of different actions and seek
input, consultation,
involvement, collaboration
• Builds common understanding
of the issue and decision by
hearing and understanding all
viewpoints and information
• P2 seeks meaningful
involvement

26. “Paradoxically, what is most needed to achieve Jane
Jacobs’s vision is to deploy a Robert Moses strategy—
redesigning our streets quickly and decisively for an
increasingly urban age, this time committed to
accommodating population growth and offering
residents more options for getting around without a
car.”

27. The Highline: A Citizen Idea

28. Trickle-down Urbanism won’t work

29. “nothing for us without us. We want to know more about
the governance of the cities, because we want to be part of
how cities are governed.” - Rose Molokoane, Slum/Shack
Dwellers International/South Africa
Demand is rising everywhere

30. Fremont Troll, Seattle
When urban democracy expands, cities flourish. The
placemaking outcomes – and the impact on people –
are nothing short of remarkable.

31. Playing the NIMBY card

32. We need to go back to our roots…our
grassroots
Cities have the capability of providing something for
everybody, only because, and only when, they are
created by everybody-- Jane Jacobs

33. Applying democratic methodology
to city building

34. Grassroots Engagement:
Making a Plan You Care About
Cheryl Morgan, FAIA
Emerita Professor and Director Auburn University Urban Studio

36. PLACE
Matters

38. THIS
PLACE
Matters

39. Get a
PLAN

40. “It’s not the will to win
that matters… everyone
has that.”

41. “It’s the will to prepare
to win that matters.”
– Paul “Bear” Bryant

42. Get a
PLAN

43. START WITH WHAT’s
GOOD

45. PLACE
Matters

51. Get a
PLAN

54. PLACE
Matters

64. Andrea takes notes
Lauren & Heather
get feedback
Town Hall Meeting – Fairfield

65. 5 minute
walk

71. What we build
Where we build
How we build
shows what we
VALUE

74. What we build
Where we build
How we build
shows what we
VALUE

78. THIS
PLACE
Matters

79. What is a Design Assistance Team?
The DAT program brings together multidisciplinary teams of
professionals to work with community stakeholders and
decision-makers in an intensive 3-5 day planning process.

80. Since 1967…Collectively the DAT program, a public
service of the AIA, represents over 1000 professionals
from more than 30 disciplines providing millions of
dollars in professional pro bono services to more than
200 communities across the country, ultimately
catalyzing over one billion dollars in new
investment…

82. Objectivity

83. Multi-disciplinary Expertise

84. Community Participation

85. What distinguishes it?
• We are NOT:
– Another Consultant Team
– A process to produce a
planning document
• “Please don’t give us
another plan. We have
plenty – they all sit on the
shelves. We need
implementation
strategies.” – Almost Every
community
– Government-focused
– “Green”-focused
– Building-focused
• We ARE:
– Public Service in the Public
Interest
• “Consultants work for
somebody. Design
Assistance Teams work for
everybody.”
– Action-Oriented
– Community-focused
– Holistic, Customized,
Integrated

86. “This opportunity for our community was a catalyst
for action, implementation and improvement. A
primary outcome has been that the process
awakened community pride and inspired a ‘together
we can’ attitude.” – Nathan West, Community
Development Director

87. Portland Pearl District R/UDAT (1983)

89. “Viewed from today, it is hard to believe the sense of risk
that the first developers in the Northwest Triangle felt as
they challenged a complete lack of interest in downtown
living when the R/UDAT came to town in 1983. The R/UDAT
team had demonstrated sound opportunity. Daring
developers, good planning and a favorable economy turned
opportunity to reality and ushered in metropolitan living in
the Pearl District on a scale unimaginable in 1983.” –
Paddy Tillett, FAIA

90. Santa Fe Railyard R/UDAT (1997)

92. “It was an experiment in deep democracy. That is the
beauty of it –a true community effort, we were all in it
together. It was not created through a hierarchy of
controlling leadership.” – Steve Robinson, Santa Fe
Railyard Community Corporation

93. Birmingham R/UDAT (2011)

95. “No one thought we could get this much done in
just 3 years. We have done it together. We are a
community on the move! Ain’t no stopping us
now! I can’t wait to see what we will have done in
ten years.” – Neighborhood Assc. Leader

96. PARTICIPATORY BUDGETING
CHICAGO
THEA CRUM
DIRECTOR OF NEIGHBORHOODS INITIATIVE
OUR MONEY, OUR DECISION

97. AGENDA
• What is participatory budgeting?
• PB Chicago
• How is PB different?
• Challenges and Successes

98. WHAT IS PARTICIPATORY
BUDGETING?
A democratic process in which
community members directly
decide how to spend part of a
public budget.

99. PARTICIPATORY BUDGETING IN
NORTH AMERICA
Sources: Map, Public Agenda, 2016
North America Data, Participatory Budgeting Project, 2017
• Broad Impacts Since
2009:
• 22 Cities
• 300,000 people engaged
• $238,000,000 public
dollars
• 1,530+ community
projects

100. WHAT IS PB CHICAGO?
PB Chicago is a collaborative effort of UIC
Great Cities Institute, the Participatory
Budgeting Project, and over 30 other
nonprofits and community organizations and
participating Aldermen and city agencies.

101. PB CHICAGO GOALS
EQUITY
INCLUSION
COMMUNITY &
COALITION BUILDING
SUSTAINABILITY

102. HOW DOES PB WORK IN CHICAGO?
1. Idea Collection
2. Proposal
Development
3. Project Expos4. Community
Vote
5. Implementation
& Monitoring
of projects

103. PB CHICAGO BUDGETS
Three Different Budgets:
• Ward Capital
Infrastructure
• Tax Increment Financing
District
• Chicago Public Schools

104. WARD (DISTRICT) BASED PB PROCESSES
5 – Ald. Hairston, 2012-2013
10 – Ald. Garza, 2015-now
17 – Ald. D. Moore, 2015 - now
22 – Ald. Muñoz, 2013 - 2015
29 – Ald. Taliaferro, 2015 - now
31 – Ald. Santiago, 2015 - now
35 – Ald. Rosa, 2015 - now
36 – Ald. Villegas, 2015 - now
41 – Ald. Napolitano, 2016 - now
45 – Ald. Arena, 2012 – now
46 – Ald. Cappleman, 2012 - 2013
49 – Ald. J. Moore, 2009 - now
109
41
8
4
7
3
6
5
19
18
34
39
38
27
11
14
23
28
21
1
20
29
45
25
13
12
17
2
22
24
16
37
40
36
47
32
50
30
42
26
33
31
15
43
35
46
49
44
48
PB in Chicago - Participating Wards
Previous PB Wards
PB Wards

105. WINNING PROJECTS
• Park improvements
• Pedestrian Safety Projects
• Street crossing lights & pedestrian
Islands
• Sidewalk improvements
• Street resurfacing
• Murals and artistic bike racks
• Community gardens
• Bike lanes and street lighting
• Improvements to public schools
• TIF: Culinary workforce training
program, green roofs, skate park
• School: Recreational/game lunch room

106. HOW IS PARTICIPATORY
BUDGETING DIFFERENT?
• Starts with a pot of money
• Projects are developed based upon the
allowable uses of that pot of money
• Projects are developed by community
members with support from experts and
vetted by the city before making the ballot
• Projects that win the community wide vote
are implemented
• Role of the expert(s) – facilitator, trainer,
educator, TA provider, evaluator

107. CHALLENGES
• Resources
• Uneven capacity
• Mismatch between
community identified
boundaries and
political boundaries

108. CHALLENGES
• Mismatch between
community needs and
restrictions/regulations on
public dollars
• Deep lack of trust around
public engagement
• Implementation challenges

109. SUCCESSES
•Each year, more youth,
people of color and low-
income individuals participate
in PB.
•PB leverages additional
resources and funding for
community projects.
•Active PB Participants report
a significant increase in
citizenship knowledge and
skills.

110. SUCCESSES
•PB creates spaces for innovation around
community organizing and public
engagement
•Youth engagement and PB in Schools
"Throughout the whole PB project I have learned that
you have to be a great leader, show respect and be
proud of whatever it is you're doing…An advice that I
would give to any students that are participating in the
project is to make good decisions and be mature and
to always remember YOUR VOICE MATTERS."
Youth School Participant

111. THANK YOU!
Thea Crum
Director of Neighborhoods Initiative
tcrum3@uic.edu
@UICGCI
@PB_Chicago
Facebook.com/PBChi
www.pbchicago.org