Managing Conflict from a Planner's Perspective

Managing Conflict from a Planner's Perspective

Conflict is an everyday occurrence and is part of our personal and professional lives. In many cases, it is a simple difference of opinion over a low-priority issue and is quickly forgotten. At other times, it is a cascading process involving a difficult issue and strongly held beliefs and values.

Local organizations, governmental entities, and communities are often in the position of managing contentious and rapidly changing issues. Effectively managing difficult issues and conflict while building trust, increasing community and stakeholder support, and reaching the best possible decisions are challenges that all communities and organizations face.

This session will help participants identify their preferred conflict management style. It will also increase their understanding of how this style may or may not be well suited to certain types of conflict and how it may change based on the situation. Examples of effective conflict management techniques and best practices will also be shared.

Along with planning for items such as land use, economic development, and community vitality, planners should have a process in place for preparing for conflict. The information provided will assist participants in being proactive when dealing with controversial issues, difficult situations, and challenging personalities.

Speaker

- Neal Fogle, Penn State Extension

Group viewing brought to you by Lancaster County Planning.

Lancaster County Planning strives to provide educational opportunities for our planning partners – professional planners, municipalities, consultants, designers, engineers, local planning commissions, and interested citizens. In 2026, we will continue to provide an opportunity for our partners to join us at our office to view a mix of live and recorded webinars we have purchased or registered for from various sources on a variety of planning topics. Many of these programs will provide AICP CM and ASLA continuing education credits. Due to site license restrictions, we are not able to share our webinar access information with interested parties. For independent access, please contact the webinar provider directly.

For questions related to this event, please contact 717-299-8333 or email [email protected].