Each of the seven chapters reveals design projects and their public input. The projects and corresponding chapters are: 1) Wharf District Park, Boston, Mass. 2) Ground Zero, NYC; 3) Austell Intermodal Facility, Austell, Ga.; Youngstown 2010, Ohio; 4) Freedom Park, Atlanta; 5) zoning reform, Chicago; West Philadelphia Initiatives; Penn?EUR??,,????'???s Landing Forums, Philadelphia; 6) Disney?EUR??,,????'???s America, Haymarket, Va.; 7) Mutir?????o 50, Fortaleza, Brazil; Visitacion Valley, San Francisco; Imagine New York, NYC.

?EUR??,,????'??Public clout has increased,?EUR??,,????'?? notes author Barbara Faga, FASLA. It is easier to oppose than propose, she observes and at times hard not to take offense when public members question the direction a design professional wants to take a project. ?EUR??,,????'??Just when we think we?EUR??,,????'???re in the driver?EUR??,,????'???s seat ?EUR??,,????'??? we may find that someone else is behind the wheel and we are just along for the ride,?EUR??,,????'?? she wryly observes. ?EUR??,,????'??Sometimes it seems the public process never ends,?EUR??,,????'?? she laments.

The problem, she continues, is the issues and challenges of public consensus are taught in very few planning and design schools and ?EUR??,,????'??often glibly dismissed by practitioners as peripheral to our work.?EUR??,,????'?? Doesn?EUR??,,????'???t it make more sense to send professionals out into the world with real understanding of how the public aspect works? she argues.

The author notes her colleague Lynn Wolff cogently described the extensive Boston Wharf District Park public meetings as ?EUR??,,????'??civic theater.?EUR??,,????'?? It took 19 months to get design approval!

The author asks some important questions: ?EUR??,,????'??How do we maintain the integrity of the design or plant through numerous iterations? Is there a point at which we should end the public debates and take over as professionals??EUR??,,????'??

Barbara Faga presents what you can expect and practical methods for making the public process more workable and useful. She is out to challenge some assumptions and help prevent mistakes. Most importantly, she brings her experience in this realm to tell you how it really works.