Ideally, participants move game pieces around the board and negotiate their final location. After defining various user scenarios, then map the experience of someone walking through the design. Outcomes may be summarized in a series of stories, plotting movement with colored markers or notes. The economic impact of a project may be addressed by pasting down play money where the scenarios produce sales. From self-guided walks to elaborate design games, the methods selected depend on the issues the community needs to resolve and their stage in the design process.
Involvement is the key.
When citizens feel they played a genuine role in the process, they produce better results. As California matures, communities rely more heavily on local experience and customs. Architects, trained to understand the layers of economic, urban design and historic traditions of cities, are becoming teachers and guides to communities seeking to focus on their uniqueness, articulate their identity and plan more effectively to face the future.