To effectively address the housing crisis, we need public engagement processes that can tap into the knowledge and creativity of participants as they deliberate, so communities can resolve the difficult trade-offs involved in housing and land-use planning.
Governments around the world are experimenting with lottery-selected panels, a 50-year-old democratic innovation designed to counter rampant polarization and political elitism head-on.
Arkansas’ Winthrop Rockefeller Institute is crafting an approach to public deliberation rooted in principles of respectful dialogue, diverse opinions, and collaborative problem-solving. It is called the “Rockefeller Ethic,” and it is designed to maximize the influence of public deliberative processes on policymaking and public officials.
Civic life, particularly the aspects of civic life that interact directly with government, can often seem lifeless. What role do happiness, pleasure, and joy play in participatory democracy? What possibilities might we imagine together if we paid particular attention to nurturing those emotions in our work and in our civic spaces.
One starting place for building a more collaborative and less adversarial democracy is strengthening the power of communities to take collective action to solve their own problems. State “preemption” laws that limit the power of local government could hinder that process.
The 2023 All-America City Award identified communities that are actively engaging citizens, especially youth, in the policies and decisions that shape their lives by breaking down barriers to meaningful participation. The award winners illustrate how small acts undertaken collaboratively can foster democracy as they chip away at today’s challenges.
Educators and civil society leaders have been warning about a crisis of civics education for years. Many students are unable to answer basic questions about U.S. government and American history. But taking a course called “Civics” is not the only way for young people to learn about democracy and civic life.
Because the arts have the capacity to affirm and advance democracy, the Kettering Foundation has decided to integrate the unique power of the arts into its work locally, nationally, and internationally. The Democracy and the Arts program will focus on deepening our engagement with core democratic values.
If people don’t trust the news media and civil dialogue is contracting, how can journalists adapt their practices to better serve their highest calling, supporting our democracy? Spaceship Media’s Dialogue Journalism is one effort to adapt to the reality of today’s civic information landscape.
