A workshop about land-use decision-making in the context of community/societal values

Community based land-use decision-making is often left to an oligarchy who are familiar with the planning process. Stakeholders are frequently under-represented, possibly because of their unwillingness to participate due to the unfamiliarity with the process. The workshop described here develops participants' understanding of a land-use planning process and the complexity of socio-economic values using individual reflection and shared perspective through writing, model-making, presentations, and discussions. Using consensus-building strategies, along with a documentary film, participants engage in several hands-on group activities. Shared values in combination with new community perspectives are realized through a series of workshop activities.