The challenge

How can public sector engagement shape public spaces to meet the diverse needs of the community?

In the town of Lenzburg, this question arose in particular with regard to the future of its forest.

It was to serve as a recreational area, but also fulfill ecological and infrastructural requirements – a complex balancing act that required public sector engagement and community participation in urban planning to ensure broad approval.

The solution

Instead of conventional e-participation, the city relied on public sector engagement with BrainE4

In an open, interactive process, citizens were able to actively contribute ideas and prioritize the most important suggestions without bias, ensuring an inclusive city planning approach.

Within a short period of time, several hundred ideas were collected, which were then clearly prioritized by around 12,000 interactions by forest visitors.

The results

This public sector engagement approach improved decision quality and strengthened trust in the urban planning process.

The result is a viable development plan that takes into account the interests of all relevant groups, not just the loudest ones. Community participation in urban planning ensured that iInfrastructure measures, leisure facilities and ecological aspects were weighted based on the real needs of the population – not on guesswork or individual opinion leaders.