Could local civic life save American democracy?
4 ways to strengthen a divided nation, from the ground up
In many U.S. communities, governments and institutions are innovating to bring people into local civic life in meaningful ways. This work is associated with benefits from joy to health to understanding across difference: research suggests that civic engagement boosts personal satisfaction and combats social isolation, loneliness and deep-seated division.
The collaborative work in communities contrasts with a national narrative about American democracy often characterized by divisiveness and partisanship. It also represents a shift in how local governments approach their relationships with the people they serve. Rather than making decisions with little input from communities, officials are involving community members deeply in local processes, from transforming parks and lakefronts to developing city policies. In this new paradigm, residents contribute ideas, learn how the proverbial sausage is made and even help make it.
According to Dr. Hollie Russon Gilman, a senior fellow at New America, an affiliate fellow at Harvard’s Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation and a senior advisor at the Trust for Civic Life, these efforts strengthen not only the communities that participate in them — they also have the power to fortify American democracy.
“People in local communities are coming together,” Russon Gilman said. “They’re solving problems. They’re working with their neighbors. They’re using collective, participatory mechanisms to reimagine their civic life.”
We spoke with Russon Gilman about the innovative and impactful ways communities are engaging residents in local civic life. Today we highlight four insights from our discussion.
Govern with community members
When people aren’t civically engaged, the results include low levels of trust in public institutions and a feeling among community members that they are not represented. “When people are not involved, they’ll feel like their voice doesn’t matter,” Russon Gilman said. “They’ll become disaffected. And it is a real challenge for American democracy.”
Russon Gilman said cultivating a sense of agency requires looking beyond elections and instead providing consistent opportunities for residents to contribute: “How do we engage people not only to vote but also to be involved in their community in day-to-day co-governance, on the issues that directly impact their lives?”
One example comes from Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. Over five months in 2023 and 2024, the county government led a comprehensive process that engaged nearly 19,000 people in Pittsburgh and surrounding communities to develop All In Allegheny, an action plan designed around residents’ priorities.
The process incorporated a range of strategies, with some community members deeply involved and others engaging through surveys and focus groups. The result is a plan that aligns the County’s focus areas with local people’s top priorities, including child care and care for older adults, paid training opportunities and services that get people to work, and affordable housing development and home repairs.
“Allegheny County engaged huge swaths of the community and had a very thoughtful engagement process,” Russon Gilman said. “They were intentional about engaging a diverse sampling across race, ethnicity, age and income level. Democratic experimentation like this can help rebuild trust.”
Another example comes from Macon, Georgia. The city of about 150,000 people developed the Macon Action Plan (MAP) to stimulate investment and activity downtown and in surrounding neighborhoods. But unlike many master plans that involve community input yet still rely on government implementation, MAP formally acknowledges the community’s agency to conceive and lead public projects, flipping the script of the typical comprehensive plan and introducing an innovation the Macon team calls “democratized implementation.”
Democratized implementation has multiple benefits. It invites community leadership and activates civic engagement. It leverages the creativity, energy and intelligence of local residents, resulting in innovative ideas and faster results. Thanks to this approach, community groups have installed civic infrastructure like bike racks, bus stop benches and street lighting. Macon residents have worked together to turn a downtown median into a park, host film festivals and create murals. And philanthropic institutions are getting involved, supporting community-led programs to activate and connect Macon’s downtown.
Prioritize diverse and inclusive engagement
Russon Gilman said that, for civic participation to support a stronger democracy, it’s essential to bring a diverse mix of people into the work. “Without getting a broad, inclusive, diverse sampling of the population engaged, it’s hard for people, especially those excluded, to feel like they have efficacy,” she said. “And then, in turn, many people become less likely to shape and participate in their communities.”
The Trust for Civic Life supports locally led efforts that engage Americans in regions that are historically overlooked by funders and have low levels of civic opportunities. The cross-ideological collaborative links national philanthropies with rural regions such as the Black Belt, Central Appalachia, Tribal lands and the Southwest border. Whether the Trust is helping local groups build sustainable community farms in Michigan, install solar panels on schools and churches in Appalachia or develop a civic marketplace in Alabama, there’s a strong emphasis on inclusive, community-driven solutions that are pre-political and nonpartisan in nature.
“Offering resources to communities — in particular, underserved communities or communities experiencing rapid economic or demographic transitions — can bring people together across lines of difference and result in collective problem solving,” Russon Gilman said.
Akron, Ohio, provides another example of civic engagement that emphasizes diversity. Since 2016, the Akron Civic Commons team has been working alongside residents of three neighborhoods to improve public spaces and create human-scale ways to reconnect the communities. A common mantra is to “move at the speed of trust.” This reflects the Akron Civic Commons team’s commitment to developing authentic relationships, building trust among residents and engaging people who represent the three neighborhoods, each of which has a unique history and different demographics.
It started with a mind shift: seeing public space work not as a series of transactions but as a network of relationships. The Akron team met people on their porches and front yards. They hosted potlucks at the parks to break bread alongside residents and created simple programming like s’mores, free weekly canoeing and a regular concert series. Residents became members of the Akron Civic Commons team, sat on steering committees and, when paid positions became available, local residents were hired to fill them.
Trust has filtered out into the built environment, with transformations including a permanent beachhead at a local lake, overhauls of downtown parks and public amenities, and a multipurpose lakefront trail, all envisioned together with residents.
Build programs to last
Some of the most promising civic involvement efforts last beyond the scope of a single project or initiative. Instead, they’re designed to last for years, engaging people in the work of their community on an ongoing basis — and institutionalizing the idea that democracy requires consistent participation from a wide range of residents.
“How do you create that engine? It takes resources and it takes leadership,” Russon Gilman said. “And it takes accessibility. Childcare, language translation, sometimes stipends for participation, thoughtfulness about location and use of technology. It’s important to reduce those barriers.”
It can also help to start with a tried and tested model, such as an idea that originated in Europe and is gaining traction in the U.S.: citizens’ assemblies. Citizens’ assemblies are forums that bring citizens into democratic decision-making processes. Similar to jury selection, participants are randomly selected, helping to ensure balanced representation among the community and giving everyone an equal chance to participate. Because participation requires a significant commitment over months or years, assembly members are typically compensated for their time.
Although citizens’ assemblies are often formed to develop solutions for specific problems — such as childcare in Montrose, Colorado, and the future of the fairgrounds in Petaluma, California — some cities have started to form permanent assemblies to address key issues on an ongoing basis. Or they’re using the work of their assemblies to launch long-term efforts to focus on identified issues.
In 2022, Brussels, Belgium, created a permanent citizens’ assembly on climate change. The assembly is made up of multiple citizen panels, each of which deliberates and makes recommendations on a piece of the city’s climate policy. The government has committed to reviewing the assembly’s recommendations and reporting transparently on its decisions about them.
Paris, France, created a permanent citizens’ assembly to focus on three main themes: education, the environment and public space. The assembly is already making an impact: earlier this year, a bill developed by the assembly addressing homelessness was adopted into law by the Paris City Council.
“Citizens’ assemblies move people along the ladder of engagement, giving them real tools to be empowered, make change and learn,” said Russon Gilman.”It’s a hands-on civics education. And I think that’s very energizing to people.”
Strengthen civic life in public space
Public spaces — from parks to libraries, trails to main streets — can nurture the relationships and experiences that form the bedrock of a healthy civic life. When people join together for yoga in Memphis at an inviting riverfront park or gather for a block club meeting or a game of chess at a vibrant community hub in Detroit, they’re growing their network of social connections and experiencing joy in their community — all of which are crucial bedrocks for civic action.
“How do we strengthen those civic muscles?” Russon Gilman said. “It needs to start somewhere. And parks, libraries, rec centers, farmers markets — those are places where we can see one another and problem-solve together. That can help begin to reduce the divisiveness in American politics.”
These are just some of the reasons why thoughtful investments in public spaces are critical for America’s communities. When cities design, manage and program their civic spaces in ways that emphasize key social, economic and environmental outcomes, the benefits range from increased trust in people and local government to greater hope for a community’s future.
“How do we build a multiracial, multiethnic democracy that people feel joy in?” Russon Gilman said. “Where democracy isn’t something that happens over there, it’s part of the community. With Reimagining the Civic Commons, Trust for Civic Life and these co-governance examples, people and organizations are bringing democracy and civic participation down to real size for people. So it’s not just some idea or some politician — it’s our communities and our lives. That is something that really energizes me.”
Editor’s note: Interested in working toward collaborative governance and civically engaged communities? Check out these practical and strategic resources:
- A collection of case studies from New America’s Co-Governance Project on impactful democratic innovations
- Russon Gilman’s latest book, Civic Power: Rebuilding American Democracy in an Era of Crisis, co-authored with Sabeel Rahman, shares strategies for creating a more inclusive and equitable power balance in policymaking
- The Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative’s City Leader Guide on Civic Engagement provides tools and insights to engage residents in public problem-solving
- Transform Your Practice, a community engagement card deck from Reimagining the Civic Commons, shares practical ideas for transforming your engagement practice.
Reimagining the Civic Commons is a collaboration of The JPB Foundation, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, The Kresge Foundation, William Penn Foundation, and local partners.
