Responding to persistently high homicide levels in New Orleans, in 2012, the city’s mayor Mitchell J. Landrieu formed NOLA for Life, a program aimed at using a public health approach to combating violence. In addition to large shifts in policing tactics, this plan included community listening sessions, during which community...

In March of 2015, Montréal residents petitioned for community meetings to be held regarding the city’s dependence on fossil fuels, invoking the city’s public consultation laws. Of the city’s 1.9 million residents, over 15,000 signatures were collected. The petition was accepted by the city clerk’s office and, on June 30,...

After the fall of the Taliban, the Government of Afghanistan, with funding from the World Bank, started the National Solidarity Program (NSP) in 2003 in an effort to extend the reach of government services, spur development, and foster participation in civil society. The NSP’s goal is to facilitate the creation...