ABSTRACT

Technological changes have had the greatest impact on community involvement so far this century: the way in which people access information, their ability to debate and discuss online and initiatives by both local and national government to transfer services online have created a position whereby no planning application is without an internet presence. This chapter addresses the external technological change impacting on planning, and focuses on the significant opportunities that online engagement offers. The presence of the internet does not only provide a new platform on which to communicate: it changes the manner in which people communicate. The American University Center for Social Media identified internet usage as falling into five categories: choice, conversation, curation, creation, and collaboration. Protesting against the status quo, lobbying politicians, campaigning against organisations, cause-related fundraising and political campaigning have flourished in line with the accessibility of internet communications.