by Paula A. Ding
ABSTRACT
Citizens’ right to participate in decision-making and the planning of their future is a key tenet of western democratic thought. Community visioning is one process for community engagement that has been used to affirm the principles of democracy and address issues facing society today. Paula A. Ding interviews Steven C. Ames, a leading expert and prolific writer on visioning. Steven Ames is a consulting long-range planner and futurist, author of A Guide to Community Visioning (American Planning Association: 1993, 1998) and developer of the Oregon Model of community visioning. He has worked with numerous communities in North America and Oceania, including Maroochy 2025 and Blue Mountains Our Future in Australia, Flagstaff 2020 and Hillsboro 2020 inthe U.S., Future Path Canterbury in New Zealand, and Alberta 2020 in Canada.(continue…)