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FEATURE
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<br />:,._,he Internet and its user-
<br />fr�endly bro�vsing technology,
<br />the World Wide Web, changed
<br />everyday life in the 1990s. I�Tow, with the
<br />advent of "e-government," public offi-
<br />cials are investing serious resources in
<br />hopes of exploiting the Web's ubiquity to
<br />automate interaction with citizens, cut
<br />costs, and iinprove service. Washington
<br />state residents, for example, can apply
<br />online for boating permits. "E-filing" of
<br />taxes is increasingly common, and even
<br />online voting is being cautiously intro-
<br />duced.
<br />But as a communication channel for
<br />land-use planning, the Web has generally
<br />been the provi.nce of well-heeled locales,
<br />especialiy lazger states, cities, and coun-
<br />ties. This is stazting eo change, thanks in
<br />nart to the rise of computer software and
<br />ice companies that are focused on
<br />needs of local govern�sents — and are
<br />willing to 'tnvest in smaller, less iucrative
<br />markets. Now the Web is within the
<br />reach of most communities, especially
<br />those with realistic expectations and a
<br />by Dnvid Essex
<br />few weil-chosen strategies.
<br />The "soft" benefits can be closer,
<br />richer relationships with constituents,
<br />and increased participation by people
<br />who would otherwise rarely xnake the
<br />trek to a public hearing. There are sub-
<br />stantial cost savings in the printing and
<br />labor that can be avoided by making
<br />informatio� available at little or no �ost
<br />online. A well-organized online informa-
<br />tion system ean help build institutional
<br />memories zn organizations notorious for
<br />rapid turnover in both volunteers and
<br />staff. But more importantly, the new
<br />communieation channels may help to
<br />further democratize a process that has
<br />often been dominated by highly motivat-
<br />ed special-interest groups.
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<br />NETWdRK1NG WITH
<br />THE �'iJBLIC
<br />It is important Eo
<br />understand the dis-
<br />tinction between the
<br />Internet and the Web.
<br />The former is the de-
<br />centralized network of
<br />millions o£ intercon-
<br />nected computers that
<br />had been a medium
<br />mostly for acadernics
<br />axzd governrrzent re-
<br />searchers ur�til the
<br />early 1.990s, when
<br />easy to use, colorful
<br />browsers such as Net-
<br />scape and TnCernet
<br />Explorer, and docu-
<br />ments hyperlinked on
<br />Web "pages," became widely avaiiable,
<br />and then multiplied exponentially.
<br />Technically, tiiere are other commta-
<br />nication channels that run over the pub-
<br />lic Internet and have little to do with the .
<br />�.,:
<br />Web, per se — notably e-mail, Internet
<br />telephany, and newsgroups, which pro-
<br />vide time-independent discussions car-
<br />ried out in e-mail. It doesn'[ change the
<br />fact that in today's world, the firsi
<br />mandatory step in ereating an online
<br />presence for your planning departmenc
<br />or pragram is to set up a Web site, or
<br />have a page (or pages) on the site of a
<br />host organization, typicalty your munici-
<br />pality. The site will function not onty as
<br />your "portal" to �velcome the public, but
<br />as the outward face of the central PC
<br />servers and the sophisticated necworking
<br />and application software you need to
<br />manage content and communications.
<br />Most small cities and towns can
<br />afford the following options, which typi-
<br />cally are avaiIabie on basic Web sites or
<br />vvith special application software that
<br />costs only a few dollars a month:
<br />e E-mail, Visitors who click on a high-
<br />lighted Iink on the page are taken direct-
<br />ly to a form with the address of a generai
<br />departmental e-mail box already filled in.
<br />They can type a message in a window,
<br />add their e-mail address, and send —
<br />often w'tthout ever leaving the site. Other
<br />links can go directly to the personal mail-
<br />boxes of staif.
<br />� Feedback forms. Similar to e-mail,
<br />they're usually geared to a tiinely topic
<br />that the planning department wants
<br />input on.
<br />a Polls and surveys. These pop-up farms
<br />look szmilar to those used for door-to-
<br />door, teiephane, and mail surveys.
<br />Res�its can be tabulated in the depart-
<br />ment's regular database (often Microsoft
<br />Access) or in a special database that
<br />comes with the Web software. Some sites
<br />also provide quick, unscienCific polls
<br />PLANNING COMMISStONERS ]OURNAL / NU[vtBER 51 / SUMMER 2003
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