Our Mission

Hanover's Welcoming and Inclusive Neighbors network exists because we have a choice.

We can be a town that talks about inclusion, sustainability, and community — or we can be a town that builds it. Literally.

The Welcoming and Inclusive Neighbors network is a community of Hanover residents who believe that more neighbors make us stronger — and that the best thing we can do for our town's vibrancy, climate, economy, and soul is to make room for more of us.

We gather to learn, connect, and act. We bring together people who care about housing abundance, economic vitality, climate resilience, and genuine inclusion — and who understand that all four of those qualities depend on the same thing: a Hanover where more people can live.

We are educators, advocates, and neighbors. We recognize that Dartmouth is already doing its part — building denser, more sustainable housing for its students on campus — and that we must do our part too. We believe that a duplex on Balch Street, multi-family on Park St, and a quad on School St are not threats to Hanover's character — they are Hanover's character, and have been for over 100 years. Only over the past few decades have exclusionary zoning rules encouraged a monoculture of ever-expanding single family homes.

Hanover's Welcoming and Inclusive Neighbors network is guided by our own 2024 Sustainability Master Plan, which calls for expanded housing opportunities, walkable neighborhoods, transportation options, downtown vibrancy, and protected green and rural spaces. This community-informed plan makes it clear that choosing how to grow is the challenge before us, and that focusing our growth on areas with existing infrastructure is the best path forward.

We believe the greenest building is the one built close to where people already want to be.

We believe a ten-minute walk to work is a climate strategy.

We believe downtown storefronts stay open when there are enough neighbors to fill them.

And we believe that protecting open space and rural character depends on building density where density belongs — near downtown, near transit, near the places where people live, work, and play.