Get Started Influencing The Future
There are many ways to influence the future of a city: public comments during city council meetings, large capital investments, overbearing state legislation—the list goes on. But if you're a regular person who just wants to get started making things better, the following are a few great options to do just that.
1. Join a Neighborhood Association
A great place to get your feet wet with civic involvement is by joining your local block watch or neighborhood association. It might sound boring or cringe, but the reality is that there really is strength in numbers, and joining your immediate neighbors to wield your collective influence is a fantastic way to start.
Use the City of Phoenix "Neighborhood Group Search" to find your local block watch or neighborhood association.
If your address search comes up with no results, consider reaching out to your City of Phoenix Neighborhood Specialist about creating your own neighborhood group. Neighborhood Specialists are part of the Neighborhood Services Department and they are a unique and valuable resource for navigating the complicated and often siloed city departments to improve your community.
2. Connect With Advocates
There are a number of excellent advocacy groups in the City of Phoenix who are working on specific issues to improve our communities.
theHUB (Hatcher Urban Businesses)
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3. Village Planning Committees
The City of Phoenix is divided into 15 urban villages, each with its own village planning committee. Each village has a unique character, and Village Planning Committees help shape that character by providing recommendations to the Planning Commission and the Phoenix City Council about text amendments to the city's zoning code, rezoning applications, and other important initiatives like the city's decennial General Plan Updates.
Committee members are appointed by the Mayor and City Council from people who live or work in the village—no special training or education is required. Effective VPC members need only a point of view about our fair city, and a willingness to listen and engage the topics of the day.
4. Public Meetings
It may sound a little boring, but public meetings are a really effective way for citizens to be heard. Sure we get a chance every couple years to vote for our city council members and mayor, but public meetings are where those elected officials are actually making the decisions that shape our future.
Whether you're interested in development topics like parking requirements for new developments, or citywide issues like whether or not we should have photo enforcement for traffic speed and red light running—public meetings are the place to hear the ideas and topics being considered and to offer your input to the decision makers who will ultimately decide.
Use the button below to see upcoming Public Meetings.
5. Use Your Voice
While it may not always feel like it matters, we each have a voice in the way our city is run and the priorities that the city ultimately pursues. Even if you aren't interested or able to participate in neighborhood groups or public meetings, you have the right to be heard.
Making phone calls and sending emails can be a useful way of getting your voice on the record, whether it's in your neighborhood association, VPC, or city council. Public comments are provided to decision makers ahead of key votes, and while they may not go "viral" like in-person public comments sometimes can—they still serve the purpose of informing our leaders about what we want and don't want, and how we want to see issues prioritized.
Learn more about getting involved and follow important civic issues facing our city by join the movement to shape our future.
