Circle training sessions: A tool for understanding changing demographics

Changing demographics in both urban and rural areas mean increasingly diverse needs, expectations, and demands for relevant planning services. Whether these changes are due to increasing or decreasing populations, greater cultural diversity from im/migration, aging populations, generational differences in technology use, enhanced awareness of Indigenous populations or of LGBTQ+ identities, these trends require a responsiveness from planners for which many may feel inadequately prepared.
 
How do we access and learn from the many different experiences, perspectives, and needs represented in our populations? How can we plan effectively without understanding these? To not do so inevitably leads to public dissatisfaction at the very least, inadequate service provision, and possibly community conflict.
 
Planners need tools for eliciting the much-needed diversity of perspectives to better inform planning policies and processes. Circle is one such powerful tool. It is premised on creating opportunity for all voices to be heard in a non-hierarchical manner. Structurally, it is designed to share power, empower participants to share leadership, and create space for differing experiences/views. Whether used for focus-group research, community engagement, or addressing community conflict, Circle enables planners to learn through deep listening, facilitate the sharing of important stories and information, and ultimately, build communities. Circle is an essential tool for planners.
 
In this session, participants experience Circle while also learning the key elements of the Circle process. Together, we explore examples of planning contexts where Circles have been or may potentially be used in practice.
 
Speakers:
Primary Presenter: Jennifer Ball, RPP, MCIP, Conrad Grebel University College
Co-Presenter: Wayne Caldwell, RPP, MCIP, University of Guelph
 

Speakers