We spend enormous energy debating polarization, misinformation, and distrust in government, while ignoring the one democratic institution millions of Americans encounter most directly: the public meeting itself. I was recently...
Participatory budgeting (PB) has moved from a niche democracy innovation to a mainstream governance tool, now used in thousands of cities worldwide. A recent international study by Merrick Langdon, Harlow Pickens, Grace...
If you’ve watched HBO’s Succession, it’s clear how cutthroat the changing of the guard is. In the world of democratic politics, succession is key to a legitimate changeover of leadership. A component...
On January 29, 2026, Anchorage residents gathered for a public forum that set out to do something both simple and profound: help neighbors “walk a mile in each other’s words.”...
During a public forum in Rochester, Minnesota, on December 4, 2025, the Center for Democracy Innovation piloted a new accessibility tool to expand participation in civic conversations: live AI translation...
Public meetings are meant to be where communities and governments conduct business, learn about important issues, and make crucial decisions about courses of action. However, public servants and elected officials...
Neighborhoods are an essential aspect of local democracy, and for neighborhood groups to be truly democratic, there are at least five core principles they should embody: Representation: Do they reflect...
The Neighborhood Design Center’s Equitable Engagement Toolkit: Prioritizing Equity in the Community Design Process is a curated library of 51 resources designed to help practitioners put equity at the center...
Public meetings are where decisions are made, but they’re often seen as unwelcoming, overly formal, or ineffective spaces for two-way dialogue. If you’ve ever left a meeting thinking, there has...
