The Common Ground process focuses on identifying and working from areas of overlap and consensus in people's viewpoints, rather than focusing on differences and disagreements or necessarily striving for consensus.
Community Video projects are any type of video documentary or film describing local community or presenting profiles of residents. They can be used specifically as tools for planning when they address certain complicated planning topics or issues.
An online virtual 3-D world, Second Life allows users to create their own “sims” (virtual characters), explore the virtual world, meet and interact with others, buy or rent land, build objects and offer services, and develop relationships.
CommonPlace is an online community forum that allows neighbors to share announcements, organize local events, form community groups, and strengthen neighborhood connected.
Essay contests are used to collect stories and opinions about a community and engage people in thinking about the community's future. They can be very open-ended or be directed to address specific community planning or character issues.
Yellow Wood Association’s You Get What You Measure Program applies a values-based process to real-world planning. Developed by a small business consulting firm, the program typically works with rural communities.
Participants in a Crayon Your Community event draw maps of their neighborhoods or towns, including all natural and built elements that they identify as important to their vision of the community.
Big Box Evaluator is a web-based, interactive resource for citizens and government officials who want to know more about the potential positive and negative impacts of “big box” retail stores on local communities.
A form-based zoning code allows local governments to regulate the physical form of new development, as opposed to only specifying its use. This encourages mixed use and development that is consistent with local character.
Photography or video contests invite members of a community to submit photos on a certain topic, generally community character or special places, to collect different perspectives on how residents see the community's heart and soul.