U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

Community Culture and the Environment: A Guide to Understanding a Sense of Place

This guide outlines a step-by-step process for conducting a "community cultural assessment." The EPA's Office of Wetlands, Oceans and Watersheds developed the guide to increase community participation in environmental protection, but its tools and techniques can be used for comprehensive planning, sustainable economic development strategies, consensus building, indicators, etc.

Users will learn about such things as local knowledge about community issues, the language community members use, influential subgroups within the community, historical trends in the community, community priorities, and other social factors.

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