Mindmixer aims to bring community participation on a whole new level and as a community engagement in local planning enthusiast, this could be a great new way to get people involved. Yes we already have online communities and local forums, but I think this is different. As the article states ‘its like sharing a FB like button’ to planning policy initiatives online. The results so far look have shown some success too from improving transport policy, creating a city budget and getting ideas on policy.

Achieving this through civic incentives like free bus travel, ideas being publicly displayed etc, sound so exciting. I am definitely thinking of watching this closely and following it up in some way.

If I know one thing, history tells us that whatever finally emerges as the new sunny uplands of modern town planning in the UK it will probably be changed again: just at the point where everyone has got their heads around it.

Interesting article by the planner man on the current debates about the NPPF. In some ways I do agree or at least sympathise with the view that local community involvement is perhaps at times problematic and that perhaps common sense needs to prevail in the light of the current population census and future predictions. However, I think that communities rights to consultation and information should not be carved back but perhaps planners need to reconsider how to educate communities on wider issues relating to developments and perhaps change their expectations of the consultation process and what can be gained from it.