Democracy in Action - OptionFinder® Interactive Keypads Give Citizens a Voice at Historic World Trade Center Redevelopment Meeting
July 20, 2002 - 5,000 citizens gathered in New York City’s Jacob Javits Convention Center to provide input on the future development of the World Trade Center Site. As part of “Listening to the City”, one of the largest interactive town hall meetings ever produced, participants used OptionFinder keypad technology to quickly express their opinions about six redevelopment concept designs currently being proposed.
The OptionFinder System, a combination of audience participation software and wireless response keypads, made it possible for every individual to instantly respond to interactive questions about the designs. This immediate feedback was used to gauge public perception, gather important demographic information, and to stimulate discussion about the proposals.
Michael Smith of Option Technologies was the technical producer working behind the scenes to coordinate the technical components of the program. Smith has worked on many citizen engagement activities including everything from Social Security reform to regional planning all across the US. “This was the largest and most exciting meeting I have been involved with both from a professional and personal perspective,” Smith said. “There are many people that come together to make this type of meeting successful and we had them all here today.”
Led by a facilitator at each table, participants discussed the merits and drawbacks of each plan before using OptionFinder keypads to rate each aspect of the potential designs as excellent, good, adequate, or poor. They were also able to rank the issues that they liked and disliked about the six plans.
OptionFinder also allowed participants to provide demographic information to meeting organizers. This helped them determine if the attendees were a representative sample of the New York population. The audience also used the keypads to give their feedback about various aspects of the rebuilding process and participate in an ‘electronic’ evaluation at the end.
The public input gathered in this meeting will be used to re-examine the quality of the proposed plans and address other pertinent issues, such as the impact of the Port Authorirty’s Lease on the redevelopment efforts.
This 21st Century Town Meeting
TM was facilitated by AmericaSpeaks and sponsored by the Civic Alliance, a group of nearly 100 organizations aligned to develop strategies for WTC rebuilding process. It was the latest in a series of public forums that elicit citizen feedback on Ground Zero rebuilding efforts.
For more information about the outcome of this meeting, please visit www.listentingtothecity.org, www.americaspeaks.org, www.rpa.org, or www.renewnyc.com.
Option Technologies is the world’s largest provider of interactive meeting technology. Since 1985, OTI has been providing meeting design services and interactive technology solutions to organizations ranging from Fortune 1000 companies to small consulting firms. Option Technologies is an Orlando, Florida company with U.S. offices in Utah, Texas, Tennessee, Georgia, Detroit, and Puerto Rico. OTI also has International Affiliates in Australia, Brazil, Canada, The United Kingdom and Singapore.
For more information about OptionFinder or Option Technologies, please contact Rob Monson at 407-872-3333 or visit www.OptionFinder.com.
Other Press Coverage:
Standard-Examiner
CNN Article 1
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CNN Article 3
USA Today
MSNBC
CBS News
ABC News
New York Times
New York Daily News
The Philadelphia Enquirer
The Washington Post
The Miami Herald
Rebuilding the WTC Site