On May 5, the Raleigh City Council unanimously accepted recommendations developed by the city’s first-ever civic assembly (not to mention the biggest one east of the Mississippi!). The assembly met for six Saturdays over three months in a process facilitated by the National Civic League’s Civic Genius team and a crew of very dedicated city staff.
The Raleigh metro area is one of the fastest-growing places in the country, and the city is in the midst of developing its next Comprehensive Plan to guide that growth. With many neighborhoods poised to evolve over the next few decades, city government wanted not just to hear from residents directly but to create a place where residents could learn from many perspectives and develop recommendations that serve the entire community.
The civic assembly brought together a randomly selected, demographically representative cross-section of residents on a consequential topic: as Raleigh expands its rapid bus service to new neighborhoods, what should those neighborhoods look like? Assembly members heard from a wide range of experts about the basics of urban planning, the city’s history of racial segregation and redlining, the economics of real estate development, and much more. They shared personal experiences, challenged their own assumptions, and ultimately created a set of recommendations that approached a complex issue with nuance.
Where did this cross-section of Raleigh come from? The city mailed invitations to 9,000 households and distributed another 1,000 to community groups, social service agencies, and schools. Of those who responded to the invitations, Civic Genius, with help from colleagues at the League’s Center for Democracy Innovation, chose 40 people by lottery in proportion to Raleigh’s census data on age, race, gender, geography, and whether they rent or own their home.
As a result, the assembly reflected a wider range of residents than those who routinely interact with city government. Participants came from neighborhoods all across the city and included new arrivals, long-time residents, working-class folks, young professionals, full-time parents, high school students, and retirees. All participants received a $1,000 stipend as well as meals and childcare – crucial benefits to enable people in a variety of income and family situations to participate equally.
The first few sessions were information-packed, with experts contributing a range of perspectives on the key issues under consideration – housing, transit, public space, and more. Then came deliberation. With the guidance of Civic Genius, city employees from across several agencies helped facilitate small-group discussions that enhanced personal experiences and goals with new information. Assembly members developed a shared vision of the future they wanted for their neighborhoods, including once on Zoom during a surprise January snowstorm.
Once the snow melted, many participants headed out in small groups for an experience that was new to many: riding the bus. A number of assembly members noted that they could more clearly envision new development along bus routes if they had firsthand experience with public transit and how it fits into neighborhoods. The city provided free bus passes and a map to make this excursion fun and easy.
During the last two sessions, members brought together everything they’d learned and deliberated over and hammered out their recommendations. The assembly worked on a consensus model, meaning a recommendation would only be included in the final report if at least 75% of the group supported it. By the end of the process, the assembly had authored and approved over two dozen recommendations for the Raleigh city government, covering zoning and land use, affordability, housing types, safety, density, pedestrian infrastructure, equity and gentrification, cultural preservation, and the impact of all these proposals on neighborhoods and quality of life. One participant, when reflecting on the assembly, said that a few core priorities emerged early on and remained top of mind as members deliberated: protecting long-time residents and marginalized communities from being priced out, protecting green space, and addressing the impacts of climate change.
The final report also included an important paragraph: a minority opinion from a participant who said that the recommendations would not necessarily help large families like hers. Fellow participants and city staff expressed gratitude to the person behind this opinion, with many noting that her persistence in the deliberations had forced them to more closely analyze their opinions.
All of this thoughtful, consensus-driven work culminated in a city council hearing on May 5. Council members praised participants for their hard work and expressed interest in holding future assemblies on other issues.
This group didn’t just work together on a few Saturdays; they also built new friendships and lasting relationships. When asked what surprised them most, one wrote, “the willingness for people from different backgrounds to listen to each other and find common ground.” Survey results further revealed an increase in trust that residents have for city government. Sound policy is an obvious outcome of a civic assembly, but so too is the potential for bridging divides in polarized times.
