Stimulating regenerative development through community dialogue

Definitions of regenerative design, regenerative development and regenerative thinking differ, but community engagement is an integral component of these definitions. A critical aspect in regenerative approaches is the focus on the uniqueness of place and the creation of a story of the place, with the local community playing a crucial role in developing this story. Practitioners have found that engaging communities in these efforts requires a different approach, one that is designed to elicit and clarify aspirations and values and which enables the community to recognize and feel its connections to the natural systems of which they are a part. An approach to community engagement is presented that has been developed, tested and refined over the past two decades. Its basis is founded on establishing honest, deep and ongoing dialogue within the community and between the community and the project team. As the case studies presented in this paper indicate, one of the most important benefits of a process of dialogue is a community that has developed shared goals and leaders to ensure progress toward those goals over time. Wider implications for design and planning professionals include the potential to redefine their processes and services, examining responsibilities to the local community and working with the research community to develop a wider evidence base.