LCPC Visions-Common Ideas Words
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BARNSTABLE LOCAL COMPREHENSIVE PLAN
Common Themes and Words in Visions Written by LCP Committee Members
5/2/23
Barnstable’s Local Comprehensive Plan Committee (LCPC) members wrote vision statements for the
March 30, 2023 LCPC meeting. To identify common ideas among those vision statements, staff from the
consultant team coded the LCPC vision statements in four ways. First, we coded each vision statement
against the priorities that were identified from previous public input for the LCP vision.1 As we did the
coding, we noted significant ideas that were not captured in previously recorded priorities and coded
those as well. Second, we counted meaningful words that were repeated among vision statements. This
count excluded words like “is” or “the” that do not have meaning in the context of setting a vision
statement. Third, we counted how many times each verb was used across the vision statements. Fourth,
we counted how many times each adjective was used across each vision statement. The results of the
coding are presented below.2 The consultant team used these tables as one source of information for
developing draft vision statements for the Barnstable Local Comprehensive Plan. In addition, the words
included in this document can be used as a “word bank” for future revisions to the vision statement.
Priorities in LCPC Members’ Visions
Theme Count
Protect the environment (natural resources), preserve open space, improve climate
resilience, plant trees 12
Preserve history, including intergenerational links, and structures, features, and ways that
provide Cape Cod charm 9
Foster an economy that serves people who live in Barnstable and that provides year-round
employment opportunities, especially in the Blue Economy and job sectors that provide
living wages 8
Improve supportive health and human services for those in need and safety in village
centers 8
Preserve diverse community character that is unique to each village 7
Increase proactive communication and transparency from town government 7
Protect and improve water quality in all forms – harbors, rivers, ponds, drinking water 6
Expand housing options and opportunities at affordable prices for all ages 6
Support diversity and equality/equity 6
Effective decision-making and implementation 6
Foster opportunities to form community connections and get to know neighbors 5
Infrastructure 5
1 See the document, “Visioning Elements from Previous Engagement,” that was discussed at the March 30, 2023
LCP Committee meeting.
2 The coding was done through a combination of manual entry and data processing in Excel. It is intended to be a
general guide to the frequency of words and ideas and may contain some errors. We counted every time a word or
idea appeared, so if an individual LCPC member used a word more than once, it was counted more than once.
Document Title
2
Theme Count
Provide a world-class public education 4
Recreation 4
Healthy 4
Improve transportation options, including public transit, walkability, bike-ability, manage
traffic congestion 3
Visitors 3
Maintain and improve access to essential goods and services 2
Thrive, Enjoy 2
Make the town more “green”—reduce greenhouse gas emissions, better waste
management, alternative transportation, etc. 1
Prosperous 1
Steer development toward areas with adequate infrastructure that have already been
disturbed 1
Meaningful Words in LCPC Members’ Vision Statements
Words* Count
Community 20
Village 13
Support 12
Environment 12
Safety/Safe 10
Future 9
Housing 8
Resources 8
Development/Develop 8
Natural/Nature 8
Water 8
Diversity/Diverse 7
History/Historic 7
Economy/Economic 7
Access/Accessible/Accessibility 6
Character 6
Infrastructure 5
Communication/Communicate 5
Inclusive/Inclusivity 3
Sustainability/Sustain/Sustainable 2
*For this tally, we included only words that are meaningful in the context of a vision statement. We
excluded words like "is" or "the."
Document Title
3
Verbs in LCPC Members’ Vision Statements
Verbs Count
support 11
connect 7
protect 7
provide 7
create 5
encourage 5
grow 5
build 4
care 3
design 3
enhance 3
feel 3
honor 3
work 3
balance 2
celebrate 2
ensure 2
facilitate 2
preserve 2
promote 2
steward 2
acknowledge 1
activate 1
attract 1
enable 1
foster 1
heal 1
identify 1
incentivize 1
maximize 1
raise up 1
respect 1
safeguard 1
share 1
steward 1
strengthen 1
thrive 1
Document Title
4
Verbs Count
utilize 1
Adjectives in LCPC Members’ Vision Statements
Adjectives Count Notes
safe 10 connected 7 future 7
natural 7
open 6 open space (4), open government (2)
active 5 diversity 4 every 4 every person (2), every mode, every village
healthy 4 local 4
accessible 3 clean 3
diverse 3 historic 3
inclusive 3 seven 3 Seven villages
adaptable 2
affordable 2 coastal 2 developed 2
equitable 2
good 2
human 2
living wage 2
quality 2
renewable 2
resilient 2
responsive 2
unique 2 appropriate 1 Cape Cod 1
cohesive 1
convenience 1 core 1
Document Title
5
Adjectives Count Notes
cultural 1 disturbed 1 ecologically
friendly 1
effective 1 enhanced 1 environmental 1 essential 1 everyday 1 freshwater 1 green and open 1
indefinite 1 integral 1 interconnected 1
job-based 1 low cost 1 marginal 1 maximum 1 one 1 One community
ongoing 1 outstanding 1
perpetual 1
physical 1 previous 1 prosperous 1 recreational 1 reliable 1
rich 1 Rich history
scaled 1 secure 1 sensitive 1 shared 1 significant 1 thriving 1
transparent 1 truly 1 upstart 1
valuable 1
vibrant 1
Document Title
6
Adjectives Count Notes
welcome 1 world class 1