Community engagement
The practice of involving residents in shaping a public artwork or program: from consultation on themes and sites to co-creation of the work itself.
Engagement runs on a spectrum: inform (tell people what's coming), consult (ask and genuinely listen), involve (residents help shape decisions), and co-create (residents help make the work). None is inherently better (a memorial demands deeper engagement than a parkade mural), but the level should be chosen deliberately and said out loud, because nothing burns trust faster than consultation that was really an announcement.
The overlooked half of engagement is the record: write down what was heard and what changed because of it. That document defends the project later, and it's the difference between engagement and theatre.
A public guide can carry engagement past the ribbon-cutting: moderated community contributions let residents keep adding photos, stories, and corrections to the record, with the program still deciding what publishes.