Addressing growth and sprawl through large-scale dialogue and collaborative action.
Too often, public officials wait to involve the public in decisions about their community's growth until a crisis develops over issues like new roads, shopping centers, or housing developments. But what if public officials found a way to tap the wisdom and energy of citizens before divisive controversies arise?
Dialogue-to-change programs help people build the trusting relationships necessary for long-term change. People from diverse backgrounds and experiences develop trust, understand each other's experiences, and work together on solutions.
The Communities
Portsmouth, New Hampshire
Portsmouth is a community where dialogue-to-action programs are deeply ingrained in the way the community handles big issues. Recently, Portsmouth residents wrangled for more than a year over whether to renovate a 75-year-old, downtown middle school or build a new one on a plot of open ground along a tree-lined creek. Portsmouth Listens, a community volunteer group, partnered with the Portsmouth City Council and School Board to help the public talk about the issue and seek community consensus.
A few years earlier, Portsmouth used study circles to provide input for the city’s master plan. Those discussions enhanced the city’s sustainability ethic. The city is going “green.” For example, the city’s new public library is the first LEED-certified (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) municipal building in New Hampshire. Portsmouth also has pioneered new ways of holding election forums, substituting circle-style dialogues among candidates and voters for the traditional question-and-answer debate format.
www.portsmouthlistens.org
Seneca, South Carolina
“Growth” is the buzz word in Seneca, South Carolina. Most candidates vying for a seat on the city council put strategic growth and development at the top of their agendas. Even the city’s elementary school children have been invited to take part in the community planning process through the “Junior Planner” program and after-school programming. And, this spring, city planner Tamy Sanford is leading an effort to engage many residents in dialogue to get their help in shaping the city’s future. With a struggling downtown facing competition from highway commercial development, the people of Seneca are uniting to find solutions. “We recognize public participation is vital to understanding the values that have made and will continue to make Seneca great,” says Sanford.