Pedestrian and cyclist deaths have increased dramatically in recent years, but some communities are finding ways to make city streets safer and more convenient for those who prefer non-automotive forms of transportation.
Local leaders are facing ever more complex challenges in an increasingly difficult political environment. Some of the leadership skills required to ensure success can be found in transformational leaders our nation has enjoyed throughout history. One of those leaders is General George Marshall, Army Chief of Staff during World War II.
It’s time to look more closely at how our election system fails to accurately reflect the voice of most Americans. There are strategies to elect leaders who truly represent their constituents that have roots in our nation’s history. Fusion voting might be one way of countering the advantages of extremists and ultra-partisan candidates in our binary political system.
Creating opportunities for citizens to be heard is vital to today’s contested and sometimes polarized political atmosphere. This especially rings true for public meeting formats, which have been criticized for amplifying the loudest voices, sidelining historically underrepresented groups, and prioritizing performance over genuine dialogue.
Stories provide the invisible, evolutionary infrastructure of human society. They make belief systems, identity formation, and collective action possible through the shared narratives by which we understand ourselves and others.
Even promising democratic innovations can frequently fall short because they fail to elevate the well-being of people in economically disadvantaged regions. What’s missing is a democratic system that is geographically integrated and institutionally enables collective decision-making in development, infrastructure, and investment.
An alternative to the divided and privatized nature of today’s political environment lies in our own civic history: commonwealth politics, a tradition rooted in the idea that citizens are central to democracy and caring for the public good.
Once we are mentally committed to a community for the long run, everything in the city matters significantly more, whether the quality of the public schools, the beauty of the parks, the effectiveness of public services, the responsiveness of the police and fire departments, and countless other things that have an impact on our daily lives.
According to the Federation for Innovation in Democracy there are seven principles needed for a successful citizens’ assembly: representativeness, a clear remit, adequate time, diverse information, deliberation, a free response and a final report, and accountability. Here’s how those principles were put into effect in Canada’s Yukon Territory.
