The Barnstable Growth Management Department hosted a workshop on climate change on Monday, offering residents a chance to role-play various interested parties, and attempt to find common ground in the complex and sometimes controversial subject. Focusing on reaching solutions at the local level, the event was designed by students at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and presented by the non-profit Consensus Building Institute.
The participants were broken up into groups of six, and each individual was assigned a role in the imaginary community of Shoreham, a coastal town designed to broadly resemble Barnstable in the general issues presented by climate change. Each role came prepackaged with a set of concerns and priorities. The town planner was instructed to pursue strategies for mitigating the threat posed by coastal flooding, while the assistant town manager was tasked with keeping costs, and resulting taxes, as low as possible.