When development proposals are released, sustainability in the broadest, most comprehensive sense is typically not addressed in any meaningful way. The public is left wih no understanding of what is possible, resulting in contentious, compromised solutions where communities are pushed into an adversarial role. The "ladder of participation" by sociologist Sherry Arnstein (Building Democracy, Graham Towers - UCL Press) To combine both top-down and bottom-up urban design procedures for real sites establishes trust, avoids mistake, sparing the cost of endless litigation. A community planning process, with open work groups, is quite feasible and usually very successful. A charette rendering for a sustainable urban grid (watercolor - JL Msika)