Community Visioning is the process by which a community envisions the future it wants through meaningful public participation. Community engagement helps to distill the values and priorities that will contribute to a sustainable future. Visioning initiatives are the inspirational starting point for a comprehensive sustainability planning process. The visioning process evaluates the community as it currently exists, identifies what is valued in the community, and encourages stakeholders to imagine where it would like the community to be in ten or twenty years. This shared vision creates the basis for developing goals and completing actions that move the community toward a more ideal, sustainable community. Typically the community vision will be used to guide the establishment of community plans and programs, personal behaviors, and government decisions.

A Community Visioning Process is the first step in creating a full Sustainable Community Plan. 

Why is it important?

In order to foster stronger, more sustainable communities, people must first be able to envision a sustainable future. The visioning process allows stakeholders to identify community assets they value; assets they can build upon or improve in order to create a better community, and conditions that need to change in their community. The resulting vision statement articulates the future community which will be produced by implementing sustainable solutions for environmental, economic, and social problems. The vision will guide community decisions to achieve sustainability.

Sustainable communities provide for all residents and engage the public. The visioning process encourages public participation and fosters a sense of ownership. The participatory process encourages individual commitments to sustainability while building support for public initiatives. People directly involved in creating a vision for the future are likely to take an active interest in achieving that vision and be more engaged members of the community. The fact that vision statements reflect shared goals fosters community spirit and builds local capacity.