Before deciding which kinds of community engagement efforts you’re going to take on, define who your focus communities are and what you they can teach you. Focus communities can be broad (e.g., everyone travelling through, living, or working within a specific corridor), or they can be very specific (e.g., residents and employees of a retirement home). It may also be helpful to set goals for the number of people you plan to reach and the information you hope to collect through community engagement efforts.
I wonder if it is normal for transportation docs to have a paragraph like this. It is similar to the obligatory, “What is an RPG?” section at the beginning of those books. However, it’s probably more interesting to consider the above. 
Also, one thing you learn doing outreach, Gibson is spot on: The future is already here – it’s just not evenly distributed.
Hence:
Street Story collects information about the demographics of the people participating, which may help you determine whether you are hearing from the groups you intend to reach. Street Story is designed to be used online, but is also available in a paper version for people who might not have digital access or feel more comfortable providing information or experiences on paper.