The Scenario Workshop Project conducted an innovative community meeting in Lowell, Massachusetts, in April 2002 titled “In the Community’s Hands: Planning for a Sustainable Lowell.” It used the “scenario workshops” (SW) process to become a model for grassroots planning in the United States. CFWC and the Center for Industrial Competitiveness collaborated with the Loka Institute on this project. 

The SW method was initiated by the Danish Parliament’s Board of Technology in 1991 to facilitate the achievement of urban environmental sustainability in the areas of water and waste management, housing, transportation, and energy. The method includes four alternative scenarios, each depicting everyday life of an imaginary family 20 years in the future. The Lowell SW brought together local citizens and stakeholders to debate and formulate new ideas on how technology can have a constructive effect on the participants’ home community. 

For more information contact David Turcotte.