About Us
The Oregon Rural/Urban Project
The Oregon Rural/Urban Project White Paper describes the project as follows:
Phase 1 (6/12/24)
A statewide, online community Debate
Approximately 125 people attended and a vigorous, wide-ranging and informative discussion ensued
View the video and read the Summary Report
Phase 2 (ongoing) - Town Halls and Moderated Discussions (MDs)
Town Halls are local community gatherings, open to all interested parties, to share their perspectives on the Divide and the issues creating it.
Town Halls have three goals:
First and most importantly, to learn how Oregonians across the state see the Divide and its contributing factors,
Also, to explain the ORUP effort to bridge the Divide, and
Finally, to encourage participation in our MDs and in outreach to the State Legislature.
Moderated Discussions
Moderated Discussions will bring Oregonians from urban centers like Portland and cities in the I-5 corridor together with folks from rural areas. The selection of topics and participants at each MD will be informed by the preceding Town Hall meetings. MD participants will be tasked with developing mutually agreed upon suggestions for bridging the Divide.
Phase 3 (ongoing) - Government Engagement
The Oregon Rural/Urban Project will develop a Report summarizing the points of agreement, setting forth key recommendations, and implementing a dissemination plan to bring the report before the State Legislature and the Governor.
An extensive outreach campaign is aimed at the Oregon Legislature so they will be prepared to receive and support our Report. Specific instructions on what you can do to help move this forward are here.
Legislators are invited to form bipartisan caucuses in both the House and the Senate in anticipation of our Report.
Braver Politics, a national initiative of Braver Angels, will be engaged to
educate citizens about the most effective ways to approach their elected representatives, and
teach politicians how to converse effectively with both their constituents and colleagues.
Phase 3 will run concurrently with Phase 2.
For an example of where consensus occurred among sharply divided viewpoints using this approach, read the Report on Trustworthy Elections.
