Civic Engagement

Newark Residents Are Reshaping Who Influences Land Use Decisions

October 24, 2024 Kimberly Izar, Next City. Organize! Civic Engagement, inclusionary zoning, Land Rights, New Jersey (NJ), Newark

Asada Rashidi and several other residents of Newark gather around a 3D map of the city. The plan is covered with legos and paper cutouts representing city streets, rivers and bays, family homes, and local community institutions like childcare centers and churches. But then Rashidi and her team instruct the workshop participants to discuss what rules they would create to regulate development for the health and welfare of Newark’s residents. New zoning concepts and uses, like where residential, commercial, and industrial zones can go, transform how participants view the map.

The Surprising Link Between Budgeting And Good Health

March 27, 2024 Carl Smith, Governing. Create! Civic Engagement, Governance, health, Participatory budgeting

The health department in Tacoma-Pierce County, Wash., is always looking for ways to improve public health outcomes. To find out what might work best, the department tried something that might sound obvious, but isn’t always done. Namely, asking members of the public for their input about what's most important. Too often, health officials are prescriptive, coming into communities they may know little about and applying a standard intervention that might not match local needs, says Benjii Bittle, director of the Public Health Centers for Excellence.

Teens Work, Drive and Pay Taxes; They Should Be Able To Vote, Too

June 30, 2022 In These Times. Create! Civic Engagement, Voting Rights, Worker Rights and Jobs, Youth

The most popular proposal is to give everyone 16 and up the right to vote. In the United States, 16-year-olds are working full-time, paying taxes and driving, so why not voting? And most live with their families, which may be a better time for them to cast their first vote — rather than when they’re in the midst of major life transitions a few years later. In countries like Scotland and Austria, where 16- and 17-year-olds can vote in some or all elections, the teens vote at higher rates than their slightly older cohorts — and research shows voters who begin earlier stick with the habit. Civically engaged teenagers at home might even boost the participation of parents and other family members. Enfranchising more young people could also combat what writer Astra Taylor has termed the “gerontocracy”: a generational cohort making long-term policy they won’t be around to deal with.

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