Are Current Community Consultation Practices Good for Cities?

Do Current Community Consultation Practices Work for Urban Planning and City Building? Community consultation is a key part of public participation in urban planning, but is it working as intended? In this episode of Good for Cities, Matti Siemiatycki is joined by Crystal Legacy to explore the growing crisis of consultation in city building and infrastructure planning. They discuss the limitations of formal engagement processes, including public meetings, stakeholder consultations, and advisory panels, and how these approaches can exclude informal participation and community knowledge. The conversation introduces the concept of structural gaslighting to examine how planning systems can marginalize certain voices while appearing inclusive. This episode also looks at major challenges in public engagement today, including polarization, trust in government decision-making, and the tension between delivering projects quickly and ensuring meaningful community input. The discussion questions who gets to participate in planning processes - current residents, future residents, or both - and how cities can move beyond binary debates like YIMBY vs NIMBY. Tune in to learn how to improve community consultation, strengthen public participation, and create more effective, equitable approaches to urban planning and development.