Community foundations have distinct advantages when it comes to facilitating community engagement, including local knowledge, better networks, more accountability, and the benefits of continuity.
The events of the past decade, from racial equity movements to pandemic response disparities, have placed diversity at the forefront of local governance. Cities are no longer judged solely on how well they manage budgets or deliver services, but on how fairly and inclusively they do so.
A veteran public servant’s observations on the challenges of enacting dramatic changes in the structure of city government.
By reimagining engagement in our cities and towns, we may be able to show more Americans that it is possible—and maybe even enjoyable—to engage across differences to address their shared problems productively.
As school districts across the country continue to navigate divisive issues, a new model for facilitating productive conversations starts with being vulnerable, admitting we do not have all the answers, and being willing to listen and change.
From Brooklyn, New York, to The Dalles, Oregon, hand-painted signs are part of our culture, our cityscape, and our civic storytelling.
Long before New York’s new mayor, Zohran Mamdani, was born, “sewer socialists” served as mayors and council members in city governments throughout the U.S., winning elections by fighting corruption and offering better city services.
Instead of the current system, where most civic engagement happens through crude mechanisms like elections or public comment periods, AI could enable continuous, sophisticated collaboration between citizens and their governments. But AI also poses threats to democratic governance that we're only beginning to understand.
