Working as a video journalist at national outlets such as CNBC and Business Insider taught me how to distill complex information into narratives that people could actually connect with. My videos often focused on infrastructure and transportation — subjects that can easily feel technical or distant. But when I framed them through the lens of human experience like communities reshaped by transit projects, the stories felt personal. Creating those pieces didn’t just inform audiences, it also inspired me to pursue a career in urban planning, where I saw the same opportunity to take something abstract and turn it into something personal, tangible and shared.
My most important takeaway from my time in the media was the value of good storytelling. Storytelling isn’t just a skill for the media, it’s a tool that can build trust, foster dialogue, and create belonging. Within the context of planning and engagement, it acts as a bridge between people, ideas and place-making.
Storytelling is often an underutilized practice in community engagement. While charts, maps, and comprehensive plans explain the “what” and the “how,” stories communicate the “why.” They convey lived and collective experiences in ways that make abstract issues understandable, relatable, and memorable. At its core, storytelling connects emotionally. And that emotional resonance is what can transform participation into genuine engagement.
One video I produced while at CNBC explored the rising trend of pedestrianizing streets. To make the story resonate beyond statistics and policy, I localized it by speaking directly with the architect behind the Broadway corridor’s transformation in New York, as well as community groups and local business owners. They didn’t just describe the design process — they gave voice to the initial concerns, the compromises that had to be made, and the benefits they’ve since experienced. Their perspectives made the broader trend tangible, showing how a global movement toward walkable cities could be felt on one street corner at a time.
This is the power of storytelling in planning. By incorporating narrative into the pre-planning and community engagement process, residents can begin to see themselves reflected in the vision for change. It gives space for concerns to be acknowledged while also highlighting potential benefits through real-life parallels. And for municipalities, planning consultancies, and developers, storytelling becomes a way to ensure their visions aren’t just presented, but truly understood and illustrated in human terms that resonate far beyond a municipal code amendment or updated comprehensive plan.
Past being a tool, storytelling highlights the need to have empathy, listen and participate in the planning process. It reminds us that planning is not only about shaping physical spaces but also about honoring the experiences of those who live in them. When stories are shared, they cultivate understanding between stakeholders — residents, business owners, planners, and policymakers alike — who might otherwise fail to speak with or acknowledge each other.
At its best, storytelling doesn’t just illustrate a vision, it invites people to be a part of it. It ensures that communities feel seen, that concerns are acknowledged, and that change is framed not as something done to people, but something created with them. If planning is the design of spaces, storytelling is the reminder of why those spaces matter to the people who use them.