People may lack awareness of jurisdictional boundaries, the differences between city, county, state and federal agencies, the responsibilities of the public and private sector and formal public processes like City Council hearings. Additionally, without sharing information widely about opportunities to participate, the public faces barriers in understanding how to get involved.

When community members are fully informed of opportunities to engage and understand the purpose of participation, they are more likely to contribute their input. Achieving this includes sharing information across multiple communication channels and using different tactics to inform community members. It is important to continue to explore innovative and effective outreach strategies to increase awareness of public engagement opportunities and actively encourage participation.

The City can play a role in helping communities understand engagement processes, enabling them to effectively navigate local government systems and provide meaningful input on important issues.

Language barriers can make it challenging for non-English speakers or those with limited English proficiency to engage in civic processes fully. Sharing important project information and promoting engagement events without language access considerations can make it difficult for people with different language preferences to understand how to participate. This can lead to lower participation rates and less diverse perspectives in the decision-making process.

By addressing language barriers, community members can have a platform to share their perspectives, concerns and insights comfortably. Incorporating language access through translation and interpretation services sends a clear message to community members that their participation, regardless of their language needs, is valued.

The City of San Diego has found that not all community members have access to reliable broadband internet service or smart devices. This gap in technology access can limit people’s ability to engage in online activities. Others may face challenges using the internet or other digital devices due to varying familiarity and proficiency with technology. This can create a barrier to participation, preventing digitally under-resourced communities from effectively engaging in virtual strategies like online surveys, web-based meetings or providing feedback through other digital channels.

Understanding that digital access remains a challenge, outreach can continue through traditional forms of media to gather feedback from those with lesser digital access by providing multiple ways to participate, including in-person engagement opportunities that meet people where they are.

Structural exclusion refers to systemic barriers in programs, practices, and policies that create disparities preventing individuals or communities from participating fully in decision-making processes and in accessing opportunities and resources. These systemic barriers can include histories of institutional racism and disinvestment. Structural exclusion has led some to mistrust the government, feel unwelcome at public engagement events and/or believe that their participation may not lead to meaningful change. Furthermore, people commonly encounter multiple structural challenges simultaneously, such as transportation constraints, financial hardship, accessibility issues, food insecurity or lack of childcare.

These barriers represent resource disparities that can affect people’s ability to influence City decisions. It is important for the City to continue to design proactive strategies to overcome these barriers, including providing support that makes participation more feasible, implementing tailored engagement that meets people where they are and building partnerships with community organizations that have developed strong relationships with community members. By implementing strategies that address these structural barriers, the City can create more inclusive opportunities for all community members to participate in the public decision-making process.

People often need to juggle competing demands between their jobs, families, personal obligations and meeting basic day-to-day needs. The time and energy community members spend on everyday commitments is a foundational barrier that can be intensified for those with fewer resources. With many conflicting priorities, less time can be spent attending public engagement events, studying materials or providing thoughtful feedback. Ultimately, some people have more immediate concerns they need to prioritize over public engagement, which may be seen as a secondary priority.

To address this, it is important to continue to offer a variety of opportunities to participate to the greatest extent possible, such as opportunities at different times of the day and requiring different levels of time commitment.