1. To know the participatory rules of thumb
2. To understand the requirements to build the right team
3. To examine promising strategies that lead to trust effective working group dynamics
Ever hit a roadblock in engaging community members? Despite well-meaning intentions, sometimes actions lead to mistrust by those who might benefit most from the outcomes of planning or community development. We describe a bottom-up approach to community engagement that builds trust, incorporates local knowledge and sustains partnerships to achieve mutually beneficial long-term goals. We describe our rules of thumb for ethical community engagement and highlight best practices that empowers community action and compliments a community’s own adaptive capacity and resiliency.
The session will be a part of the "Transforming Practice through Planning Education and Research" Track to commemorate the 30th Anniversary of the Texas Target Communities Program at Texas A&M University. The track explores the evolving role of planning education and research through one of the most decorated planning assistance programs, specifically the value of learning-by-doing, the university connection to practice, the immersion of students in communities, the effectiveness of community engagement, the reciprocity required for innovation, and the application of scholarly research.
John Cooper
Invited Speaker
John T. Cooper, Jr. is an Assistant Vice President in the Division of Academic and Strategic Collaborations at Texas A&M. His research, teaching and practice focuses on participatory planning, particularly with regard to preparing socially vulnerable populations to survive and recover after disasters. In 2017 he received the Texas A&M …
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John T. Cooper, Jr. is an Assistant Vice President in the Division of Academic and Strategic Collaborations at Texas A&M. His research, teaching and practice focuses on participatory planning, particularly with regard to preparing socially vulnerable populations to survive and recover after disasters. In 2017 he received the Texas A&M Association of Former Students (AFS) Distinguished Achievement Award for Extension, Outreach, Continuing Education & Professional Development. Dr. Cooper serves on the Advisory Board for the University of North Carolina Coastal Resilience Center and as chair of the Advisory Council for the Center for Disaster Philanthropy. He previoulsy served on the board of directors for the U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities and was a founding member of the board of directors for the Bill Anderson Fund. From 2005-2010, he was a Program Director at MDC Inc. in Durham, NC, where he directed the FEMA-funded Emergency Preparedness Demonstration Program (EPD). The EPD was a $2.5 million effort to increase disaster awareness and preparedness in marginalized communities in eight (8) states along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts. Dr. Cooper earned a bachelor’s degree in Economics as well as his Master’s in Urban Planning from Texas A&M before completing a PhD in City and Regional Planning at University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill (UNC).
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Jeewasmi Thapa
Invited Speaker
Jeewasmi Thapa, AICP, is the Senior Program Coordinator for Texas Target Communities Program (TxTC) at Texas A&M University. TxTC is a service-learning and community engagement initiative that provides technical assistance to small, under-served communities across the state and focuses on holistic efforts to address land use planning, development management, and …
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Jeewasmi Thapa, AICP, is the Senior Program Coordinator for Texas Target Communities Program (TxTC) at Texas A&M University. TxTC is a service-learning and community engagement initiative that provides technical assistance to small, under-served communities across the state and focuses on holistic efforts to address land use planning, development management, and a host of civic, environmental, and economic challenges. By utilizing inclusive practices to engage a range of stakeholders in planning activities, TxTC provides tailored support, grounded in the local context, and informed by interdisciplinary teams skilled at solving complex problems. Jeewasmi Thapa received her Master of Urban Planning from Texas A&M University, along with a certificate in Environmental Hazard Management and a certificate in Sustainable Urbanism. She also has a degree in architecture and has worked as an architect in Kathmandu, Nepal.
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