Do planners trust residents, and what does that mean to them? How do residents conceptualize receiving trust from planners?
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“I don’t really know. I feel we would have to earn their trust. I’m not sure that I feel like I have to trust other residents. I would hope that any interactions we have would have mutual respect, but…I don’t think I’ve ever thought about that. I guess I have been more concerned about whether or not people will trust me. It’s what we’re doing and talking about and saying.”
Leo (South)
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"I think that [trusting residents] is a real challenge. I don't think it’s something that the profession does very well...I have the opportunity to talk to residents a bit, and when I think about trusting residents, I think about being truthful about what I am capable of doing, what is outside my control, and where I see failings in the system. I try to be honest as much as I can, while also being professional, and some people respond really well to that, and some people don't. But I think that's where, for me, trusting people comes in: trusting them to understand. I think that my department as a whole hasn’t been great at that.”
Olivia (North)
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“[When it comes to trusting residents] I don’t see it as a choice…I think being transparent to the individuals that I’m speaking with is incredibly important…we translate the technical and so that sometimes can create opportunities for both great learning and maybe instances of inaccurate translation.”
Abigail (North)
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“It's very important to make it clear that whatever kind of analysis we've done, we recognize that it is just a small part of all of the things that might make up a neighborhood. That whatever data and facts we're providing is really meant to enhance things that residents know. I’m going to make it clear that there's nothing they can't ask. I know that this is all meant to be things that they respond to, but it's not cast in stone. All we're trying to do is some kind of reasonable analysis. Here's what we've learned so far. We know there's many things we don't know. Please tell us that kind of thing. I think that the key thing is never to suggest that somehow, we have some definitive understanding of something. Because that will get you in trouble.”
Liam (North)
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“I think it really comes down to questions like what is your experience? Tell me about you. What is your daily life? What drew you to this place? What are your aspirations for this place? What do you want this to be? And then let’s figure out a way to get to that place."
William (North)
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“I would say listening is key…I use a lot of non-tangible ways of seeing a room and listening. And I really rely on my gut a lot, especially in public engagement of any kind with residents, or stakeholders, and communities. What that intuition does for me is it helps me relate to what people are saying and how they are feeling…trusting residents, for me, you can kind of hear it. I think it's more of a feeling. And it's also the words that people use, because in listening to people, you can definitely tell when they're feeling threatened, or when they're saying things to divert conversations to very small things or places instead of focusing on the issue at hand. So, from my perspective, trust building is getting people to a place where I hear them talking less about their personal one thing that they can only focus on and start focusing on, you know, whatever the project is, or context that's larger than just themselves.
Sarah (West)
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“There are some people who are always going to be oppositional to change, there are some people who are just wondering what's in it for them. Once you start dealing with more than two people, it becomes really challenging. At a certain point, you have to pick a lane and stick with it and believe that you're right and incorporate feedback. But I'm not sure what we would do if it was democratic 100% of the time.”
Olivia (North)
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“Yeah, I kind of go in with a sense of trust that because people live in their communities, they know their communities best, and I just have a certain level of respect for that perspective.”
Naomi (South)
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“You respect that people are the experts of their own experience, and that they know what they're living through. Respect what they're going to tell you, and that they have some ideas about the things that would make it better for them.”
Evelyn (South)
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“Trust that we actually know what we want and need, because one of the things I’ve seen [from planners] is the need to come in and be our savior. Okay, you come in with knowledge, you come in with skills that's respected and understood. But you also need to come in with humility and understand that those skills and the knowledge can only go so far…don't come in with an attitude of ‘I'm about to tell you what you need, you need ABCD.’ No, say, ‘I'm about to really understand you and why you feel this way and think this way, and what you need, and see what I can do with my abilities to make this better.’”
Sofia (South)
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“My issues of trust are usually just if people show up as close-minded advocates for a particular perspective. Or if they try to undermine the process, or are intent on providing misinformation, or just demonstrate that their goal is not with good intentions. My approach is to tell people, you know, one, I'm going to provide you with the information that I know. It may not be what you want to hear, but it's what is available to me. And secondly, you know, the goal isn't about being right as an individual, but trying to make the best choice for the community.”
Naomi (South)
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“...if they involve community members and decisions come back with follow-up information and progress.”
Chloe (South)
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“It means coming to the community during the planning stages. I realize there's overhead involved, and it can't take forever to do the planning, but they should come in options. Like ‘These are options that may affect you.’ And if there's something that's not right about these options, ask ‘what kind of remedies can we do to address them?’ It's a matter of building trust, and I don't think that trust is there.”
Alex (North)
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“...when there’s a moratorium of understanding that is signed and outlines all of the tasks that need to be performed.”
Vera (West)
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“It’s making a note and saying, ‘Oh, we hadn’t thought about that’ or ‘Oh, I see where that could be important to you’ and then they tell me what their plan of action is to address that. Whether it’s ‘I will ask Mike, who was in charge of landscaping, or John, who’s in charge of parking, to look at this.’ Just to make some sort of commitment. Even if they say, ‘When we were initially planning this, we thought about X, Y, Z. And as it turned out, we’re not going to be able to do that.’ It’s being honest. That would satisfy me. I mean, I wouldn’t be happy about it, but at least I’m feeling heard rather than dismissed.”
Rebecca (North)
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“I like when they’re able to collect information in different ways. To recognize that not everybody is going to speak up in a big hall, so they’re finding different ways to incorporate feedback. That makes me feel like they trust me.”
Brenda (North)