Dialogue Rooted in Place
Public lands offer unusual opportunities for civic dialogue because difficult public questions become tangible in particular places.
A battlefield can prompt questions about history and memory. A national seashore can create conversations about conservation, access, climate, development, and community. A mountain landscape can raise questions about recreation, livelihoods, preservation, and change.
Civic Lands Dialogues begin with place and move toward public questions.
The Center works to develop and study dialogue models that allow participants to consider multiple perspectives, listen across differences, examine tradeoffs, and identify areas for learning or shared action.
The goal is not to force consensus.
It is to strengthen people’s capacity to engage constructively with one another about places and questions they share.