The power of a community to choose a sustainable future is strengthened by its ability to develop a shared understanding of both the challenges it faces and the leverage points for change. For this shared understanding to have truth, it must be reflective and inclusive of the many diverse experiences found in any community.

So how do we develop shared understandings across the boundaries arising from our different experiences? One way is to listen deeply to each other, allowing for everyone’s truth and making space for diverse expressions of those truths – yes, data and analysis, but also story, visual pictures, and creative action. We can also open doors to shared understanding through participating in the processes of knowledge creation.

In our work with communities around the Puget Sound region, EcoPraxis repeatedly hears of the need for data that will support grassroots community building and sustainable development. But technical and cultural barriers to using data for this purpose abound. Data democracy is about developing grassroots capacity to access, collect, analyze, interpret and use data in ways that meet community needs.

We will be on the watch for examples of this but one that comes to mind immediately is the research Sustainable Belltown is doing on container gardening. While growing food for their neighborhood food bank, they are also taking and analyzing data on the yield of these gardens. This data will be valuable as we explore urban possibilities to address climate change.