We’ve all walked past a vacant storefront or an empty lot thinking, “If only that was a….”. Now, designer and urban planner Candy Chang has created a fun way to get all that wishful thinking out in the open. Chang is distributing fill-in-the-blank stickers that read “I wish this was…” for New Orleans residents to stick on forgotten places in the city. Click here to view photos of the results.

“I wish this was” looks like a pencil and paper (er, sticker) version of a trend of digital city planning projects that are trying to engage a broader base of citizens in unconventional ways. The “Give A Minute” project in Chicago, launched by CEOs for cities, asks residents to write up a virtual “post-it note” about what would make them walk, bike, or take transit more often. Tools like “mind mixer,” created by a private consulting firm, give city planners an organized way to gather public input on a range of topics, without making their constituents sit through another three hour meeting in a hard-backed chair. 

What is your city doing to shake up public participation?