Community visioning is key in helping local public officials and community leaders create a flourishing future for their cities, and is essential for the effective planning and implementation of these strategies. Visioning involves collaborative goal setting to motivate actions - of planners, citizens, and officials - in order to design and carry out a strategic planning process for the successful development of the community.The use of visioning since the 1980s has led to a wealth of information on the productivity of the paths it has taken. The contributors, all with experience working in the area, review the successes and failures of the strategies, and look at new innovations which are pushing the frontiers of community visioning.This review of the development of visioning focuses on small and medium sized communities in North America. It aims to guide citizens, local leaders and planners on what strategies are best to help them revitalise their communities and ensure a prosperous future.

1. Community Visioning Initiatives Norman Walzer and Gisele F. Hamm 2. Essential Ingredients in Successful Visioning Janet Ayres 3. Structures, Approaches, Stakeholders, and Program Outcomes Norman Walzer and Tatchalerm Sudhipongpracha 4. Ready to Vision? Evidence from Social Capital Assessments in Four Minnesota Towns Ryan Allen, Scott Chazdon, Barbara Radke, and Tobias Spanier 5. Framework for Teaching and Implementing Community Visioning Paul Lachapelle, Mary Emery, and Charlie French 6. Importance of Intangible Outcomes Charlie French and Paul Lachapelle 7. Building Solidarity and Agency Through a Participatory Visioning Process Lori Garkovich 8. Appreciative Inquiry as a Visioning Process Mary Emery and Cornelia B. Flora 9. Strategic Doing for Community Development Ed Morrison 10. Breakthrough Solutions--A New Paradigm for Strategic Visioning Mark Peterson, Ed Levy, and Jeff Jones