Announcing Instant Input
By Tanya Zwahlen In October 2019, my neighborhood playground disappeared. The City posted a sign saying “new playground, coming soon...” I found myself wishing I had known who was working…
Making online meetings more accessible with live translation
by Susan Charland and Charvi Gupta At Highland Planning, we are focused every day on digital accessibility and inclusion. One way to make online meetings more accessible and inclusive is…
The surprising power of productive venting
By Susan Charland, AICP When I'm working on a controversial or complex project, one of my favorite opening exercises at a public meeting is a productive venting session. During this…
Photo by Anshu A on Unsplash
Five Tips for a Safe In-Person Public Meeting
By Jen Topa Back in August 2020, we shared tips on how to hold safe in-person pop-up events. As we approach the one-year mark of the end of public meetings…
We’re Hiring Transit Ambassadors!
Highland Planning is a 14-year old public engagement firm based in Rochester, NY. We are hiring up to 40 motivated, personable, and reliable individuals aged 18 or older to provide…
Three ways to improve your data presentation game
By Christopher Dunne What do Galileo, War and Peace, and violin manufacturers have in common? For Edward Tufte, the eminent statistician and data visualization guru, they are all opportunities to…
The Gift of Listening
By Susan Charland Over the last few months, we have shared insights about our firm’s core values: Honor people, Go to Them, and Make it Sparkle. Now we turn to…
Honoring People and the Importance of Assuming Positive Intent
By Christopher Dunne At Highland Planning, we have four core values that inform our work: Honor People Go to Them Make It Sparkle Listen In the Before Times, it was…
Better Dialogue, Better Decisions
By Tanya Zwahlen The last few months have brought dissent to the foreground. From Black Lives Matter to anti-mask demonstrations to protests about the Rochester City School District budget cuts, we are observing the state of our nation and reflecting on what protests represent to our communities. We are also thinking about how they…
The (Surprising!) Benefits of Virtual Engagement
by Charvi Gupta You might think that the COVID-19 pandemic would spell disaster for public engagement. How can we get input from the public when we can’t even gather together…