Best questions for citizen survey about zoning and development input

Here are some of the best questions for a citizen survey about zoning and development input, plus tips on how to build them. With Specific, you can create your own conversational survey in seconds—no copy-paste or expert knowledge needed.

The best open-ended questions for citizen survey about zoning and development input

Open-ended questions are essential when you want citizens to share authentic opinions, surface new ideas, or elaborate on their experiences. They encourage richer, more honest answers, which helps city planners and communities understand what really matters—going far beyond dry statistics.

Here are the 10 best open-ended questions you can ask in a zoning and development input survey for citizens:

1. What concerns or hopes do you have about new developments in your neighborhood?

2. How do you think zoning regulations could be improved in your community?

3. Can you describe a positive example of development or zoning you’ve seen in another city or area?

4. What specific changes would make your area safer or more accessible for everyone?

5. What kinds of businesses or facilities would you like to see more of nearby? Why?

6. Are there aspects of your community’s character you want future developments to preserve?

7. What worries you most about how new developments might affect housing affordability or traffic?

8. How could new zoning rules better address environmental issues, like green spaces or flooding?

9. Have you experienced any zoning policies that didn’t work well? What would you do differently?

10. What’s your vision for how your neighborhood should look and feel in 10 years?

Using these open-ended questions lets citizens provide real context—and thanks to AI-powered survey platforms like Specific, you can actually make sense of that depth and variety at scale. According to research, AI enhances the analysis of open-ended responses via natural language processing, giving you better-quality insights almost instantly. [3]

The best single-select multiple-choice questions for citizen survey about zoning and development input

Multiple-choice questions come in handy when you want to quantify opinions quickly or kick off a discussion. Sometimes, people need a nudge to crystallize their thoughts—choosing from a few options is much easier than staring at a blank box. These questions are also excellent conversation starters when paired with smart follow-ups.

Question: How satisfied are you with current zoning policies in your area?

• Very satisfied

• Somewhat satisfied

• Not satisfied

• Not sure

Question: Which type of new development would you most like to see in your neighborhood?

• Affordable housing

• Parks and green spaces

• Shops and services

• Public transportation improvements

• Other

Question: Do you feel you have enough information to give input on upcoming development projects?

• Yes

• No

• Not sure

When to follow up with "why?" Use a follow-up question when a response needs context, or when you want to uncover motivations: for example, if someone selects "Not satisfied" with zoning, immediately ask "Why do you feel that way?" That’s how you turn dry numbers into actionable insights.

When and why to add the "Other" choice? Add "Other" when your options might not cover every possibility—this lets respondents tell you what you missed, and unlocks unexpected insights. Smart follow-ups can probe further based on “Other” answers, surfacing pain points you wouldn’t have spotted otherwise.

Should you include an NPS question?

NPS—Net Promoter Score—is usually used to gauge loyalty, but it can provide a powerful, singular pulse on how citizens feel about zoning and development in your community. An NPS question for this topic would look like: “How likely are you to recommend participating in local zoning and development input opportunities to friends or neighbors?” Citizens simply rate this on a scale from 0 (not at all likely) to 10 (extremely likely). It’s quick, easy, and benchmarks sentiment over time. See how to start an NPS survey for citizens about zoning using the Specific NPS builder.

Why does this matter? NPS distills broad community feeling into a single, trackable metric—great for gauging the public’s openness to engage or any shifts after policy changes.

The power of follow-up questions

If you want truly actionable citizen feedback, you need to dig deeper when responses are unclear, emotional, or hint at something bigger. That’s where automated follow-up questions set Specific apart. Our AI doesn’t just record responses—it reacts, like a skilled interviewer, to gather richer context right away. This is one reason AI surveys now achieve completion rates up to 80%—compared to just 45-50% for traditional surveys. [1]

• Citizen: "There are too many apartments now."

• AI follow-up: "Can you tell me more about how the new apartments affect your neighborhood?"

• Citizen: "I wish there was more affordable housing."

• AI follow-up: "What challenges have you personally experienced with housing affordability?"

How many followups to ask? In most surveys, two or three well-chosen follow-up questions are enough to clarify meaning and motivations. You want depth without fatiguing people—so Specific lets you set limits or let the AI stop when it gets the information you want.

This makes it a conversational survey—a back-and-forth that feels natural, not like a test. Respondents stay engaged, drop-out rates go down, and your data actually makes sense.

Easy AI analysis, even for messy text: With Specific, you don’t need to dread all that unstructured text—our AI analysis tools summarize, cluster, and even let you chat with GPT about responses. [3] This means you can act on citizen feedback much faster.

Automated followups are a new concept. Try generating a zoning input survey and watch how much richer—and easier—the conversation gets when the AI asks smart follow-ups in real time.

How to prompt AI for the best zoning and development survey questions

Want to brainstorm your own? Start simple. Here’s a good first prompt to feed into ChatGPT or your favorite AI:

Suggest 10 open-ended questions for citizen survey about zoning and development input.

It always pays to give AI as much context as possible: who you are, your goals, the specific situation. Try:

I’m a city official responsible for community engagement. Citizens in my district have mixed opinions about new zoning plans. Suggest 10 open-ended questions that inspire honest, actionable feedback for a zoning and development survey.

Once you have a good list, ask the AI to organize things:

Look at the questions and categorize them. Output categories with the questions under them.

After you’ve scanned the categories—maybe “affordable housing”, “traffic”, and “green spaces” stand out—you can go deeper:

Generate 10 questions for categories affordable housing, traffic, and green spaces.

What is a conversational survey?

Conversational surveys use AI to run interviews that feel like talking to a real person—not filling out a cold form. Each question is adapted based on previous answers, so it’s a true back-and-forth rather than a one-size-fits-all approach. This format boosts engagement, makes feedback more thorough, and keeps people answering to the end. In fact, AI-driven surveys now report much lower abandonment rates (just 15-25%) compared to 40-55% for traditional approaches, precisely because the experience feels relevant and human. [2]

Manual survey creation is a slog—hunting for the best questions, worrying about bias, composing logic trees. AI survey generators like Specific take your goals and audience and generate not just the questions, but all the branching follow-ups, logic, and summaries you’d ever need. Here’s how they compare:

Why use AI for citizen surveys? The main advantage: AI lets you combine structured data with nuanced stories, all in a conversational format that citizens actually enjoy. For planning, policy, or zoning—where context matters and perspectives are broad—AI-driven conversational surveys cut to the essence faster and at scale. If you’re looking for a robust AI survey example, check out guides on how to create a survey or explore our collection of civic feedback templates.

Specific delivers best-in-class user experience, making conversational surveys smooth and engaging for both creators and respondents. You can also refine surveys on the fly with natural language via our AI survey editor—perfect for adapting to the community’s needs without technical skills.

See this zoning and development input survey example now

Ready for smarter citizen feedback? Build your own conversational survey in seconds and discover the difference AI-powered follow-ups and analysis can make. Don’t settle for generic responses—uncover what your community really thinks about zoning and development, all with a few clicks.