The Process

Portsmouth Listens is a collaborative effort to help shape the future of the city we love. What began as a grassroots citizen effort to preserve and enhance our local quality of life has grown into a partnership between volunteers and the city. Once every 10 years, our city, through the Planning Board, reviews and revises the Master Plan-a guiding document of what our community is, and what it wants to be in the future. The Planning Board endorsed the Portsmouth Listens concept as one of the ways to get the best and most well-reasoned public input for the city's Master Plan.

What are the best things about our community to protect? What are the growing problems that we must solve? More public transportation? More affordable housing? Improved environmental health? Economic diversity? Balancing historic preservation and future development needs?

Study circles have been effectively used in Portsmouth and more than 200 communities. They work! Groups of eight to 15 people meet with a facilitator for one two-hour session a week, for four consecutive weeks. You can learn more about this process at http://www.studycircles.org.

The Planning Board will use participants' input and priorities to help develop the Portsmouth Master Plan. The Master Plan is a key policy document for community leaders to use in
making well-informed decisions about many vital local issues.

Read the reports from Phase I

Phase II

Phase 2 will kicked off on April 15, participants focused on specific issues singled out during phase 1.

Read the Phase II Reports

The People

Portsmouth Listens is a collaboration between:

The City of Portsmouth
The Citywide Neighborhood Committee
The Greater Portsmouth Chamber of Commerce
and YOU!

Portsmouth Listens Organizing Committee Members:
James G. Noucas, co-chair
John Tabor, co-chair
John P. Bohenko
Mary Jo Brown
Dave Cohen
Cynthia Copeland
Chris Dwyer
Peter Egelston
Jameson French
Ross Gittell
Peter Hamelin
Alex Hanson
Cindy Hayden
Dave Holden
Peter Lamb
Alison Pyott
Mica Stark
Scott Taylor