Raleighpedia:Roadmap

This page outlines the phased development of Raleighpedia, including content priorities, editorial standards, and planned technical improvements. The roadmap documents the project’s direction and scope rather than serving as a commitment to specific features or timelines.

Raleighpedia is being developed incrementally, with an initial emphasis on establishing a reliable factual foundation for civic reference.

Phase 1: Foundation (Jan-March 2026)

The foundation phase focuses on establishing core infrastructure, editorial standards, and baseline civic coverage.

Priority pages (foundation)

The following pages have been identified as priority reference articles due to their recurring role in public decision-making and frequent appearance in official records:

City governance and structure

• Raleigh City Council & member pages
• Wake County Board of Commissioners & member pages
• Raleigh Planning Commission
• Wake County Planning Commission

Planning and land use

• Raleigh Comprehensive Plan
• Wake County Comprehensive Plan
• Dorothea Dix Park Master Plan
• Major area plans and corridor studies

Parks, public assets, and neighborhoods

• Dix Park
• North Hills
• Glenwood South

Elections and referenda

• Municipal elections in Raleigh 2026 Election, 2025 Election
• 2022 Raleigh Parks Bond Referendum, 2020 Raleigh Affordable Housing Bond Referendum

Editorial work

• Creation of standardized citation templates for common source types (meeting minutes, staff reports, government documents): Template:Cite web, Template:Cite minutes, Template:Cite govdoc
• Development of a documented source hierarchy for civic content
• Protected pages
• Raleighpedia:Style Guide
• Special:Specialpages - For things like maintenance, lists of pages, and user management.

Technical work

• Mobile-friendly layout using MediaWiki and Minerva
• Sitewide CSS standardization
• File uploads and citation of primary government documents

Editing remains restricted during this phase while baseline content and standards are established.

Phase 2: Expansion of coverage (March-December 2026)

This phase focuses on expanding topic coverage once foundational standards are in place.

Planned content areas

• Additional boards and commissions
• Departmental programs and initiatives
• Infrastructure projects and facilities
• Long-term capital and maintenance programs
• Historical of contemporary institutions
• Note of pages of interest: Raleigh Tax Increment Reimbursement Program, Capital Area Greenway Master Plan

Improvements

• Increased cross-linking between related civic topics
• Expanded use of uploaded primary documents as cited sources
• Improved categorization, portals, and navigation

Phase 3: Structured community participation & tools (2027?)

This phase introduces community participation under defined standards. It also explores more tools to organize civic data (e.g. voting history database).

Participation model

• Account creation for approved contributors
• Emphasis on sourced, non-original research contributions
• Clear separation between encyclopedic content and discussion

Governance

• Published editorial and sourcing policies
• Documented dispute resolution processes
• Page protection for high-traffic or frequently cited articles

Phase 4: Reference and archival role

Longer-term development emphasizes Raleighpedia’s role as a civic reference and archival resource.

Objectives

• Maintain stable, citable reference pages for civic institutions and decisions
• Preserve primary documents used in public decision-making
• Support downstream use by researchers, journalists, and automated systems

Potential enhancements

• Structured data for timelines, decisions, and civic entities
• Improved discoverability through search and indexing
• Clear licensing and reuse guidance

Scope and limitations

Raleighpedia is not intended to function as:

• A news site
• A platform for advocacy or opinion
• A directory of private businesses or services
• A real-time reporting platform

Coverage decisions prioritize public relevance, sourcing quality, and long-term reference value.

Updates

This roadmap may be updated periodically to reflect completed milestones, revised priorities, or technical changes. Substantive revisions will be documented on this page.