Dream Play Build: Hands-On Community Engagement for Enduring Spaces and Places

People love their communities and want them to become safer, healthier, more prosperous places. But the standard approach to public meetings somehow makes everyone miserable. Conversations that should be inspiring can become shouting matches. So what would it look like to facilitate truly meaningful discussions between citizens and planners? What if they could be fun?

James Rojas and John Kamp have been changing the norm on community meetings for 20 years and America Walks was honored to have them share their expertise in a webinar! Their new book Dream Play Build explains their unique approach called “Place It!,” which draws on three methods: the interactive model-building workshop, the pop-up, and site exploration using our senses. Dream Play Build offers wisdom distilled from workshops held around the world, and a deep dive into the transformational approach and results from the South Colton community in southern California. While much of the process was developed through in-person meetings, the book also translates the experience to online engagement--how to make people remember their connections beyond the computer screen.