Dedicated to forging deep and sustaining connections among people, land, and the built environment.

Conservation and development? It's an unusual combination, true, but we think it's a critical pair.

In our efforts to protect precious open space, we can't ignore the need for diverse, soulful, resource-efficient communities.

In our efforts to create whole communities, we want to acknowledge that significant open space is a needed public benefit, right up there with affordable housing, schools, and economic development.

Commonweal exists to prompt this dialogue between conservation and development, land stewardship and engaged community building—and then to implement the ideas that arise. We believe there is a lot to discover in this conversation, and that if we listen well and act with right intention, we can help protect critical properties, nurture healthy landscapes, and create environmentally responsible communities that people take great delight and comfort in calling home.