It is a legal requirement of urban land use planning (preparatory land use plan and planning permission), that a two-tier system of civic involvement be in place. This consists of selective participation from residents and the formal submission of a planning design. This gives local residents the chance to understand the town's goals, learn more about planning applications and, within a certain period of the process, also voice their personal wishes and concerns. The dates for such civic meetings are normally published well in advance in the Borken town gazette. In certain special instances, additional details are also published in local newspapers.

In certain cases of town planning, the residents can be more thoroughly informed about the town's planning intentions within the scope of an open council meeting. Borken places a lot of value on transparency during the planning phase and takes advantage of the chance to bring the different opinions of the town's people into the planning process.

Aside from town planning, other planning projects are also of great interest to Borken. Road building projects are particularly important. These include the construction of bypass roads, residential roads and the redevelopment of town centre streets and squares.

Residents are also encouraged, at an early stage, to take part in these projects too. This guarantees that construction projects receive the highest level of consensus.