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
Swamp Stories: Cashing In
The promise and peril of early voting
Breaking down Black politics
Does Congress promote partisan gridlock?
How states are working to keep your vote safe
Primaries, parties, and the public
The connective tissue of democracy
How the Tea Party and the Resistance are upending politics
A 2020 preview
Grassroots organizing to “reboot” democracy [rebroadcast]
E.J. Dionne on making America empathetic again [rebroadcast]
Is it possible to overdo democracy?
Chris Beem on democratic humility and virtues
Next-generation democracy
The democracy rebellion happening in states across the U.S.
A roundtable on impeachment, institutions, and legitimacy
Your guide to ranked-choice voting
Latino immigrants and the changing makeup of American democracy
Inside the world’s largest democracy
Changing the climate conversation
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