Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
of the community (Shannon Thompson, pers. comm.). Thompson also says that it is
important for an organization to continually reevaluate and reexamine their relation-
ships, practices, and strategies throughout a project to ensure that equity is preserved
at every step (Shannon Thompson, pers. comm.). This includes reevaluation of hir-
ing and promotion practices so that racialized people have significant positions of au-
thority and the power to make decisions. Building equity into an already established
organization can be challenging for everyone involved because engaging in organiza-
tional changes to restructure the balance of power and privilege will shift the existing
power balance. However, when organizational restructuring for diversity is successful,
it can lead to “strategies and processes designed to make sure that differences among
workers do not diminish, but rather enhance organizational functioning” (Crosby and
Stockdale 2004, xix).
Improving the Participatory Framework
The current participatory framework used to engage people in the city of Toronto's ur-
ban ecological restoration planning is lacking in inclusiveness. This framework de-
pends on public meetings, roundtable discussions, and information nights to recruit
volunteers and educate the public about how a restoration project will unfold. Even
within organizations that are working toward a more inclusive practice, these tradi-
tional means of public engagement are standard practice.
A study commissioned by the U.S. Forest Service in 2003 looked at the underrep-
resentation of certain populations in urban community forestry initiatives. The au-
thors of the study recognized that the current models of outreach were not effective at
connecting with people who have previously not been engaged in urban forestry ini-
tiatives (McDonough, Burban, and Russell 2003). The public participation models
often used to encourage public involvement in the planning of urban ecological res-
toration work are based on the idea that everyone can attend a meeting and that all
who attend the meeting have an equal chance to express their values and views (Mil-
roy and Wallace 2002). However, public meetings and open houses generally involve
experts presenting their ideas to a group of concerned citizens. At these meetings,
there is little room for community involvement in the planning of the site, and the
people attending are generally those who already have knowledge and interest in eco-
logical restoration. This format unintentionally excludes a disempowered portion of
the population by not providing alternative ways of speaking out or participating in the
planning of the project (Sandercock 1998).
Public meetings that use a single means of communicating and knowledge sharing
limit the portion of the population that can contribute ideas and values to the project.
Alternative ways of connecting with the public, accessing local knowledge, and allow-
ing opportunities for knowledge transfer are necessary within an inclusive ecological
restoration framework. Using language that is accessible and approaching community
outreach creatively through storytelling sessions, community arts, or community map-
ping workshops allows the message to reach a much broader slice of the community.
Residents of the city of Victoria and the Common Ground Community Mapping
