Amid election deniers and political polarization, it's easy to overlook the times when democracy is actually working. We do that this week in a hopeful conversation about resident-centered government. Elected officials and administrative staff like city planners often have the best intentions when it comes to development and redevelopment, but political and professional incentives push them to pursue projects that lure in outsiders rather than serving people who live in their communities.
Our guest this week is Michelle Wilde Anderson, a professor of property, local government, and environmental justice at Stanford Law School and the author of The Fight to Save the Town: Reimagining Discarded America. The book tells the stories of revitalization efforts in Stockton, California, Josephine, Oregon, Lawrence, Massachusetts, and Detroit, Michigan. In each instance, residents organized to fix small problems that turned into large-scale change. It's a model that anyone can replicate and our democracy will be stronger for it.
The Fight to Save the Town by Michelle Wilde Anderson
How “if it bleeds, it leads” impacts democracy
A story about democracy, told through 20 million traffic stops
Breaking the silence in Syria
Citizenship, patriotism, and democracy in the classroom
Behind the scenes of the “Year of the Woman”
The democrats in public sector unions [Labor Day rebroadcast]
Middle America, Part 2: Grassroots organizing and rebooting democracy
Middle America, Part 1: Populism and the Trump Voter
Facebook is not a democracy
How will we remember Charlottesville?
A democracy reading list
Bonus: A dose of optimism about the future of democracy
The constitutional crisis episode
Unpacking political polarization
What should voting look like in the 21st century?
When the “business of business” bleeds into politics
Michael Mann’s journey through the climate wars
Can young people revive civic engagement?
Bonus: Democracy In Action #1
A conversation about conversation
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