We’re here to Listen! Join us at the Listening and Learning Workshops, ENGAGEDurham’s first community engagement event. As someone who lives, works, owns a business, goes to school or simply cares about the future of Durham, your opinions and ideas are valued. Bring your ideas to the workshops!

The City and County are beginning work on a new Comprehensive Plan – the community’s vision for shaping Durham’s future growth – and a new Transit Plan. We invite you to join us at the Listening and Learning Workshops, ENGAGEDurham’s first community engagement opportunity.

Five Listening and Learning Workshops (identical in format and content) are scheduled between November 14-19 in locations throughout the community. To begin, these workshops will include information to help you understand what a Comprehensive Plan is and does, how it’s relevant to you, and to provide an overview of the process. They will also provide an opportunity to provide input on the new Transit Plan. Then the majority of the session will create space for community members to share with each other and with City and County staff their experience of Durham today, in the past, and their hopes for our future. This input will shape our community’s vision for Durham’s future and will be the foundation for creating these new plans.

Each workshop is planned to last 2 hours. In addition, people are welcome to come up to 30 minutes before the scheduled meeting time. Folks that arrive early can talk with staff and to go through a background activity that sets out some information on Durham that relates to the comprehensive plan and transit plan.

Background Activity Description

This is a game that will provide information about our community, particularly around things that will be impacted by the comprehensive plan or the transit plan. You will move through a number of gallery boards meant to mimic moving through the community. At the first board you’ll choose a mode of travel at the imaginary transit hub where we’ll be asking folks to respond to the following:

I wish transit could…

I need transit for… and

Transit can help Durham by…

As you move from one board to the next you’ll go through a few scenarios that you might encounter in your daily life in Durham. As you move through these imaginary places you will encounter different situations which may impact how long it takes to get you to your final destination.

Workshop Description

The workshop will begin with a brief welcome and presentation. We aim to answer three questions with the presentation:

What is a Comprehensive Plan?

How does it impact my life? and

How will my input be incorporated into this process?

Following the presentation there will be small group discussions at each table around two questions:

What does your ideal Durham look like? and

What’s on your mind about Durham?

Each table will have a City or County staff person who will be responsible for making sure that everyone at the table gets a chance to share and that all comments and ideas are written down. The purpose of this discussion is to provide time for people to talk about what matters to them in the community right now – and to think about what you hope Durham will be like in the future. Responses to these questions will form the goals for the new comprehensive plan and transit plan.

At the end of the workshop we will explain the next steps in the process.

All workshops are identical so choose a two-hour event to attend that is most convenient for you. Doors open 30 minutes early. Each workshop will be about 2 hours long. Spanish interpretation, free child care and light refreshments will be provided.

If you’re passionate about shaping Durham’s future this is your chance for your voice to be an integral part of this process. Bring your ideas to the workshops!

Workshop Details: