At the earliest stages of an adaptation planning process, state and local policymakers can invite residents to provide input about project objectives, intended benefits, and outcomes. Community visioning is a process and planning tool that gives residents the space and opportunity to express their vision for the future of their community. Guided discussions take place in a series of meetings, workshops, and listening sessions that offer residents a platform for discussion in an open environment. By offering residents an opportunity to voice their goals and priorities for their neighborhoods, the community visioning process informs land-use decisions and planning priorities while giving residents ownership over the decisionmaking in their neighborhoods.See footnote 1
![]() |
Our Voice, Our County: Environmental Fair + Expo in Commerce, California. (Credit: OurCounty, Los Angeles County Chief Sustainability Office) |
The discussion sessions in community visioning processes can inform the foundational documents, including theories of change, mission statements, and wish lists that can provide guidance about the intended benefits of a new project or initiative. When planning professionals share initial data, metrics, and strategies for adaptation plans, feedback from community visioning processes can help assess, and possibly reframe the goals for a proposed project. The initial presentation of data and evidence-based justification for the project may also include proposed metrics to measure the effectiveness of the project once implemented.
Community visioning can also inform the likelihood that zoning ordinances, capital improvement programs, and other local government initiatives are aligned with the community's experience in their neighborhoods and the cultural values of the residents.See footnote 2 Third-party experts or consultants can provide assistance to determine whether there are any legal or policy barriers to implementing the project and provide education and outreach to residents about prospective solutions. Project leads that assess and react to community responses to proposed plans can determine whether or not the agency’s initiatives are consistent with the prevailing interests of the community, and if not, make revisions to realign project design and outcomes with the will of the community.See footnote 3 The success of the community visioning process benefits from efforts to assemble a broad-based representation of community, agency capacity and technical expertise to ensure that all parties are equipped with the data, metrics, tools, and other educational materials to complement community knowledge and inform project development and implementation.
Once the project team and resident outreach have been established, each step in the community visioning process provides an opportunity for the project participants to gather neighborhood insights and develop a clear and consistent focus on the goals and outcomes of the process.
Endnotes:
2. See, for example, RIchmond General Plan 3020, City of Richmond, View Source= (last visited July 24, 2020). | Back to contentBack to content
3. See The Maine State Planning Office, ‘Community Visioning Handbook: How to Imagine and Create a Better Future,’ (2003), available at View Source. (last visited July 21, 2020). | Back to contentBack to content
4. Mike Bell, What Is Community Visioning and Why Should You Start?, Envisio (May 24, 2018), View Source. | Back to contentBack to content
5. Danielle Brooks, City of Portland Racial Equity Toolkit, Office of Equity and Human Rights, View Source (last visited July 24, 2020). | Back to contentBack to content
Read Previous Section Read Next Section
Back to top