National Civic Review articles from September 1996

National Civic Review archives from September 1996

A common vision for the future: the role of local government and citizens in the democratic process.(Citizens and Local Government: New Roles and Responsibilities in Communities)
September 22, 1996... "I know of no safe repository of the ultimate powers of the society but the people themselves; and if we think them not enlightened enough to exercise control with a wholesome discretion, the remedy is not to take it from them, but to inform...

Public-government/public-schools: insights from another disconnect.(Citizens and Local Government: New Roles and Responsibilities in Communities)
September 22, 1996... The widening gap that separates the people of this country from its governments is well documented. Not even local governments are exempt. Students of municipal government say that the suspicion and mistrust once reserved for national politicians...

Aspirations and accountability: local government in the era of devolution.(Citizens and Local Government: New Roles and Responsibilities in Communities)
September 22, 1996... The great documents that established our nation - the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution - each contain two distinct and prominent features that capture the essence of our system of governance, our social ethic, and our approach to...

City and community in American life.(Citizens and Local Government: New Roles and Responsibilities in Communities)
September 22, 1996... There is little doubt that one of the great marvels of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries has been the growth and development of large-scale institutions: the modern nation-state; the investor-owned corporation; the city; the trade union; the...

Planning and citizenship.(Citizens and Local Government: New Roles and Responsibilities in Communities)
September 22, 1996... A few months ago, in the town where I live, our local city council took up the issue of expanding and renovating an old shopping mall. The mall expansion was one of the most highly publicized and controversial development proposals in the history...

Taking the measure of county government.(Citizens and Local Government: New Roles and Responsibilities in Communities)
September 22, 1996... The National Association of Counties (NACo) has launched a new campaign to increase public awareness of - and hopefully, confidence in - county government. By engaging the public in a series of action-oriented dialogues with county officials, the...

Bringing the news back home: public journalism and rebuilding local communities.(Citizens and Local Government: New Roles and Responsibilities in Communities)
September 22, 1996... Communities are facing an increasingly complex set of challenges, not the least of which is the move toward devolution of responsibility to the local and regional levels. For some, this represents the return of decision-making power from the...

Community organization and social capital.(Citizens and Local Government: New Roles and Responsibilities in Communities)
September 22, 1996... Ever since the Republican congressional landslide of 1994, a fascinating phenomenon has overtaken the debate over America's domestic and urban policies. Despite the public displays of sound and fury over budget agreements and health care...

Building sustainable community politics: synergizing participatory, institutional, and representative democracy.(Citizens and Local Government: New Roles and Responsibilities in Communities)
September 22, 1996... The growth in concern about the way we as Americans conduct our community politics has driven a panoply of reforms that are now part of the mainstream in communities throughout the country. Visioning processes, robust citizen participation...