Obtaining public acceptance and support for construction of a major pipeline through a developed urban community can present more difficult challenges than the actual engineering elements of the project. Today, with the increasing public desire for a say about projects which impact their communities, obtaining public acceptance can be one of the most challenging aspects of urban pipline design. The days of "decide, design and defend" are gone, replaced by a process of community involvement in the design process. The City of San Diego's Mid-City pipeline is an excellent example of bringing the community of a highly urbanized area in to active involvement with the engineers to achieve common goals. Achieving public support requires a commitment by both the designers and project owners to spend the time and resources to integrate the public into the decision making processes.