Last year, Laurie Monti, Nancy McCoy and I launched “Our Town, Patagonia” (OTP), a citizen survey that asked Patagonians about their perceptions, concerns, and hopes for the future in light of the changes our area is facing.
Over 20% of Patagonia area residents (263) responded to the survey. In addition, 69 people engaged in 11 focus group discussions.
Respondents’ major concerns fell into five general areas: Mining impacts, housing availability, youth and job opportunities, traffic and noise, and preserving town character.
The survey painted an illuminating picture of respondents’ sentiments; you can read our report here: https://bit.ly/OTPReports.
The topic of “preserving town character” was of particular interest to all three of us. The OTP survey confirmed that preserving town character is a big deal to Patagonians. In fact, it’s a goal written into the town’s General Plan that guides future development.
However, “town character” is only loosely defined in the General Plan, so we asked people in our focus groups how they would describe it. People portrayed Patagonia’s character as “friendly, helpful, welcoming, community-oriented, involved, respectful, caring, a place where you can be yourself.” They treasure Patagonia’s quiet, rural lifestyle, and its strong community fabric cultivated over the decades.
We also heard a lot of concern about losing our town’s character if Patagonia’s mix of values, attitudes, social connections, and ways of doing things get diluted and replaced. Respondents fear losing the most important qualities that make living here so special.
So how do we preserve our town’s character? First, let’s note that many factors go into it, starting with tangible things like streets, buildings, businesses, and our beautiful natural setting. Patagonia’s impressive network of civic and community organizations also play a big part. Decisions and actions to keep those things strong will help preserve town character.
Then there are the intangible factors, which all of us can help with. These are things like the social and family networks we’re part of; the stories we learn about town history; and our values, attitudes, and ways of treating each other.
In other words, to a large degree, Patagonia’s character is us—and especially those of you who have lived here a long time and made this place what it is.
And therefore, the only way to SAVE our town character is to continue to BE our town character. No one else is going to do it for us.
In fact, if we don’t want to lose ground to the headwinds of change, we’ll need to put a bit more juice into “being Patagonian.”
What would “being a bit more Patagonian” look like for you? What do you value most about living here, and what are ways to bring more nourishing Patagonia energy to your life?
It could be something simple like enjoying a walk more often, or coffee with a friend. Is there an organization or meeting group you’re curious about, or haven’t been to in a while? Perhaps visit the museum, pool, garden, or an arts event or nature trail.
If we each take our participation in Patagonia life up a notch, we’ll collectively reinforce our town character by “being the thing we want to keep.”
One survey respondent touched on key aspects of town character in answer to the question, “What are your hopes for Patagonia’s future?”
“Kindness. Simplicity. Openness. Healing. This is the root of it all—how we regard each other, how we care for the integrity of the community, in all connotations of the word. This is what we need to keep coming back to—caring for the community as a whole, and for each other. Recognize we all live here, we are a small community, we [can be] stronger with deeper ties, and more conscious commitment to this place and its people.”