Urban Democracy Workshop at the Academy of Urbanism 10th Anniversary Congress - The Future of Urbanism, June 2016, London

1. is democratic

2. Cities have the capability of providing something for
everybody, only because, and only when, they are
created by everybody
-- Jane Jacobs
The civil rights movement taught us to listen, and to
hear those whose voices had gone unheard for
generations. R/UDAT has taught us how to turn the
aspirations of citizens, and their descriptions of urban
value, into action.-- David Lewis/Peter Batchelor
Behind all the current buzz about collaboration is a
discipline. And with all due respect to the ancient arts
of governing and diplomacy, the more recent art of
collaboration does represent something new -- maybe
Copernican. If it contained a silicon chip, we’d all be
excited.
-- John Gardner
1990s
1960s
Brief History of a Movement
1980s

3. Threats
Global
urbanization
Rising Inequality
Climate Change
Crisis in
Governance

4. • Just 19% of Americans say the government can be
trusted to do what is right always or most of the time.
(10% say NEVER)
• Only 17% of Americans believe that big business can
be trusted to do what is right always or most of the
time
Today’s National Context…disastrous

6. Moving Beyond “Engagement”
• National League of Cities survey of U.S. Cities (2010) - 81 percent use
public engagement processes "often" (60 percent) or "sometimes" (21
percent)
• American Planning Association (2012) – “More than 50 percent want to
personally be involved in community planning efforts, including more
than half of Democrats, Republicans, and independents as well as
majorities of urban, suburban, and rural respondents.”
• Center for Public Interest Design (2013) – 75% of AIA members think
that architects should advocate for underrepresented groups, engage
local stakeholders in decision-making, and conserve resources.

7. PR vs. P2: The Expectations Gap
What
Government/Organizations
Want
What the Public Wants

8. Feb 2014 Survey on IAP2 Spectrum

9. But, there is great work happening…
“Artificial” polarization

10. Detroit
1950s Population = 1.86 million
2012 Population= 700,000

11. 30,000
interactions

12. Austin population: 885,000. Population doubles
every 20 years. Imagine Austin = 18,000 comments

13. Fremont Troll, Seattle
When urban democracy expands, cities flourish. The
placemaking outcomes – and the impact on people –
are nothing short of remarkable.

14. Portland Pearl District R/UDAT (1983)

16. “Viewed from today, it is hard to believe the sense of risk
that the first developers in the Northwest Triangle felt as
they challenged a complete lack of interest in downtown
living when the R/UDAT came to town in 1983. The R/UDAT
team had demonstrated sound opportunity. Daring
developers, good planning and a favorable economy turned
opportunity to reality and ushered in metropolitan living in
the Pearl District on a scale unimaginable in 1983.” –
Paddy Tillett, FAIA

17. Austin R/UDAT (1991)

19. “When looking back on how far downtown Austin has come in the
last 20 years, many newcomers to Austin would be surprised by the
state of downtown in 1993. Few people resided in downtown and
retail in the urban core was nearly non-existent. Needless to say,
Austin was faced with a fairly dormant downtown…. From the plan
came a number of recommendations that began the wheels of
transformation to create the vibrant downtown we all know today.”
– Charles Betts, Downtown Austin Magazine

20. Santa Fe Railyard R/UDAT (1997)

22. “It was an experiment in deep democracy. That is the beauty
of it –a true community effort, we were all in it together. It
was not created through a hierarchy of controlling leadership.”
– Steve Robinson, Santa Fe Railyard Community Corporation

23. Port Angeles, WA SDAT (2009)

25. “This opportunity for our community was a catalyst for
action, implementation and improvement. A primary
outcome has been that the process awakened
community pride and inspired a “together we can”
attitude.” – Nathan West, Community Development
Director