Dear Brentwoodians,
This month Lee Hunt celebrates another anniversary, the fifth birthday of Brentwood Cares. Born of the pandemic, this group has become a fixture in our community and does amazing work. Brentwood is seen as a fairly affluent community, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t need among us. Cam, Liza, and their team of amazing volunteers have done a great job of building connections within our community and beyond. I will add my thanks for their contribution and congratulations on five successful years!
Community Consultation
Melanie Swailes touches on the issue of community input in this month’s DTC report. In my work, I have learned that what passes for “community engagement” in various contexts is almost always sorely lacking. It mostly amounts to going to a community and saying, “here is what we intend to do, we hope you like it, since we aren’t going to make anything more than minor changes based on your feedback.” If there is opposition to the basic concept of the proposal, the “engagement” then becomes an exercise in marketing, cajoling, and politicking to push the original plan through regardless—a guaranteed way to build resentment and disenfranchisement.
True community engagement does not try to advance a particular idea or agenda and should be open to any possible outcome. Perhaps instead of waiting for developers to say, “we want to build x or y”, city planners should ask communities, “what kind of building forms do you want in your neighbourhood? Where should denser forms be located? What should they look like? What is the character of your community and how can we maintain that while addressing the need for more housing?”
The outcome of such a consultation could then be used to inform future development proposals and increase the “buy-in” of the community, avoiding much of the rancour and contention that surrounds some of the examples Melanie cites in her piece.
New Voices
I was glad to hear from a new contributor in the wake of my call last month for new voices and perspectives. Please look out for the piece in this issue by Leticia Hernandez in which she sings the praises of our community and all it has to offer.
And if you have something to say, please get in touch – experience not necessary!
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