National Civic Review Fall Edition: Now Online!

The Fall Edition of the National Civic Review focuses on strengthening democracy, addressing this challenge through various approaches. It explores scaling and spreading effective local practices, enhancing inclusivity and participation, and tackling issues related to community health and public safety. Find summaries of included articles below, and for more, visit the issue here.

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The 2024 All-America Cities: Counterweights to the Challenges Facing American Democracy
By Rebecca Trout

• In times of widespread political rancor, policy stagnation, and continued injustice, it’s easy to become despondent about the future. But this year’s All-America Cities and communities across the country are offering an alternative ending.

More Than a Land Acknowledgement: Authentic Tribal and Urban Native Engagement
By Mayor Bruce Harrell and Councilmember Dan Strauss

• In recent years, the City of Seattle has begun a process of re-envisioning Tribal and urban Native engagement. This new approach better recognizes the political status of many Native communities and seeks to advance racial equity for all Native people. Through a two-pronged approach, the city has created and re-invigorated engagement pathways. 

Community at the Heart of Health System Transformation: Lessons from Accountable Communities of/for Health
By Stephanie Bultema

• Over the last decade, federal and state policies have prioritized strengthening community health systems using approaches that center community residents and community-based organizations in transformation efforts.

A Simple Recipe for Complex Community Change: Make Stone Soup 
By Bill Fulton, Mark Earnest and Karen Albright

• The folk tale of Stone Soup offers important insights to communities seeking solutions for seemingly intractable problems. Among other insights, it suggests that communities already have the ingredients they need to take action and need not wait on resources from elsewhere.

How Ranked Choice Voting Could Improve Presidential Elections
By Rob Richie

• Under our current rules, presidential election outcomes frequently do not represent or reflect the will of voters. Ranked choice voting could help address several problems afflicting American elections, including unrepresentative outcomes, toxic partisanship, limited voter choice, and too many wasted votes.

An Allegory of Good Government and Bad Government
By Mike McGrath

• In these polarized times, do our political leaders still believe in simple, universal virtues of good governance and recognize the harms of poor governance—values and principles that transcend partisan lines? If so, what are they?