Much of the focus of advanced communications technology has been on benefits to economic development and education. Even beyond facilitating basic e-government services, many of us recognize that these technologies can be used to promote civic engagement and increase what Robert Putnam and others call social capital. The Planning Democracy project will work with a wide range of leaders in the diverse community of Cambridge to determine how to reinvigorate local democracy. We will examine what communications policies, technologies, and stakeholders are necessary to ensure advanced communications technologies assist all citizens in participating effectively in local democratic deliberation.