The goal of the possible futures development process is to envision a plausible range of future landscape conditions. It is critical that these representations be in a format which facilitates productive discussion and avoids broad generalities. We have found that while verbal characterizations are a useful starting point for discussion, explicit map-based depictions are critical in eliciting concrete and specific guidance from local stakeholders.
By representing a spectrum of possible futures, widely divergent points of view can be productively incorporated within a non-confrontational process. Possible futures are not necessarily desired alternatives. Often they are chosen to bracket inherent uncertainty about future conditions or test particular policy options.
Stakeholders involved in the visioning process met with the research team for a five month period and developed five alternative future scenarios.
While members of the research team facilitated community meetings, community members acted as the primary decision makers for each possible future.
Stakeholders elected to meet as a single group, rather than to break out into subgroups reflecting their particular land use practices. While the expertise of particular people was acknowleged and incorporated where appropriate, there was a strong desire by stakeholders to learn from their neighbors.