The Timing and Aesthetics of Public Engagement

Abstract

Through an analysis of a street transformation initiative in Saint Paul, Minnesota, this article argues that public engagement can be effective when it occurs early in a planning process and takes into account the aesthetics—atmosphere, embodiment, formality, and emotions—of events. Residents can catalyze engagement prior to municipal involvement, thereby creating a temporal opening that presents opportunities for creative visioning and deliberation. The limits of the approach emerge when city public engagement processes commence and aesthetics become more formal. Especially challenging is a shift in affective performance and maintaining the inclusion of representative publics.