Strengthening Citizen Participation and the Renewal of Community

by STUART LANGTON

ITIZEN participation is simultaneously one of the least and one of C the most controversial issues of democratic theory today. It is least controversial in that it represents a value accepted across the political spectnun. If there is any one point that liberals, conservatives, and prag- matists agree upon in America, it is that citizens should be informed about and involved in the political life of the community and nation.

The controversial question is not whether there should be citizen par- ticipation, but rather how much and of what kind. A conservative answer is to limit citizen participation in the interest of political stability and stress the primacy of citizen participation in the election of repre- sentatives. A liberal answer is to emphasize the importance of citizen participation as a vehicle for social change and stress the values of citizen empowerment and advocacy. A pragmatic answer is to focus on the need to achieve political consensus and stress the importance of in- forming and involving citizens, especially in administrative decision making.

Advocates for each approach would argue its primacy over others. In reality, all three approaches to citizen participation are equally impor- tant to the needs of a community as a whole. In our highly pluralistic, technological, and bureaucratic society, the absence or devaluation of any of these approaches weakens and imbalances our democratic sys- tem. We need stability, but not at the expense of justice. We need to em- power citizens and have strong advocates, but must avoid excessive polarization. We need consensus, but not on the basis of apathy or ex-

Stuart Langton is executive director of the Lincoln Filene Center for Citizen- ship and Public Affairs and the Lincoln Filene Professor of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Tufts University.

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clusion. The challenge of democratic reform today is not to promote an approach to citizen participation while excluding the others. Rather, it is to strengthen all forms of citizen participation and place them on an equal footing so that each approach can adequately serve the needs it addresses.

An Inclusive and Balanced Approach to Citizen Participation

The concept of a ‘‘learning and involved community” reflects this in- clusive view of citizen participation. It posits that the values and ap- proaches of citizen participation are multiple and should be balanced. It also suggests three other important needs in strengthening citizen par- ticipation at the community level. First, each of these approaches to citizen participation should be nourished in a thoughtful, sustained, and comprehensive manner. This gives rise to a broad democratic agenda that includes such concerns as: the quality of elections and candidates; the extent of voter participation; the range and quality of advocacy groups; the adequacy of government efforts to inform and involve citizens about policy issues; and the capacity to create consensus about major values, directions, and priorities.

Second, the status of citizen participation in a community should be actively improved rather than passively accepted. Identified weak- nesses therefore call for remedial action. As Benjamin Barber, author of Strong Democracy, has observed, democracy is an artifact. “Like works of art, it must be created.” I agree, and would add only that citizen par- ticipation is not established once and for all, but must be improved and re-established as needed.

Third, to accept and act upon this inclusive view of citizen participa- tion requires integrating the interests of community leaders who have a special interest in one particular approach to citizen participation and the values it represents. The challenge is to encourage communication and cooperation among elected officials, interest group advocates, and government administrators to reinforce or improve the many types of citizen participation that a community needs.

Five Strategies for Improving Citizen Participation As a number of essays in this volume illustrate, it is possible to create

effective and serviceable citizen participation practices at the com-

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munity level. While there is still much to discover and prove about the practices of citizen participation, there are five general strategies that can improve and balance citizen participation and strengthen the quality of civic life for a community.

A Constituency for the Community as a Whole. Community can mean many different things. It can refer to a geographical area. It can refer to the unique institutions, attitudes, and practices of the people in an area. And, it can refer to the shared interests, values, and commit- ments of a group of people who may or may not live and work in proximity to one another. An enduring ideal of community in America is that in geographic communities public institutions, attitudes, and practices can be nourished by a shared sense of interest and values. This sometimes happens, but more often than not the ideal of community is weak or non-existent.

The ideal concept of community is realized when a group of citizens becomes involved in dialogue about what they want their community to become and how they will achieve it. Without a constituency that comes together to explore the possibilities and needs of a community, it remains no more than a place where people work or live. The founda- tion of meaningful citizen participation in a community is rooted in the possibility of a strong group of citizens who come together to discover how best to communicate, resolve differences, appreciate and under- stand each other, celebrate, and improve the quality of life.

A Civic Improvement Agenda. Beyond discussion and appreciation, a constituency group for building the ideal of community needs a con- crete agenda. When we examine communities that have experienced cycles of strong civic improvement, such as Baltimore, Birmingham, and Boston, we see that three things have happened. First, there has been a strong concern about critical values such as economic oppor- tunity, the quality of public education, intergroup relations, and the quality of neighborhood life. Second, a group of community leaders has attempted to assess the deeper underlying needs of the community. Third, a specific program or a number of programs for improvements have been created as a result of that assessment. This does not mean that these communities have overcome all their problems, but through a process of value identification, needs assessment, and agenda building,

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they have brought about considerable improvements and increased community pride and confidence.

A Comprehensive Participation Process. As Ken Thomson has pointed out in his earlier essay, communities that have established a comprehensive approach to citizen participation seem to influence local government policies substantially.

Among the major problems associated with citizen participation, as Mary and Robert Kweit noted in their essay, is that officials and citizens often do not think through the goals of participation. Without address- ing this fundamental need, it is impossible to address other questions thoughtfully, such as who should participate and what are the best methods for their participation. One of the potential benefits of creating a comprehensive citizen participation process in a local community is that it provides an occasion and a vehicle for addressing these essential issues.

There are many other advantages to comprehensive citizen participa- tion processes, for example: They include outreach efforts to citizens who might otherwise be disinterested or unable to be involved; they en- courage elected and appointed officials to be more responsive to citizen participation; they provide an accepted vehicle for interest groups to ex- press their concern; they provide an ongoing mechanism for generat- ing consensus; and they provide a testing ground for attracting and training future political leaders for the community.

Despite these virtues, comprehensive processes can also become stale, ineffective, or manipulated unfairly if they are not carefully developed. These processes do not alter the need for vibrant and thoughtful electoral participation, nor do they deny the importance of independent contributions that advocacy groups can make to public un- derstanding.

Programs for Citizen Empowerment. Research has consistently shown that people of higher socioeconomic and educational status dominate the ranks of citizen participants. To protect and advance the democratic value of equal opportunity requires affirmative efforts to en- courage the civic participation of persons of lower socioeconomic and educational status. Without such organized efforts, civic life will be dominated by persons of wealth and education and, conversely, by

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leaders who can manipulate (but may not empower) persons who are poor and less educated.

Rather than allow elite domination in a community, it is better to as- sist those groups with limited resources to develop the knowledge, at- titudes, and skills to become equal partners in civic life. No community can become healthy until such a process of empowerment takes place among minorities, the poor, and the disabled. But empowerment cannot take place unless institutions and activities organize to assure that it happens, as William Cirone and Barbara Margerum explained in their article. Unless such a process of empowerment is instituted, whether it grows out of an enlightened commitment of government agencies or the organized efforts of less advantaged leaders, no community can achieve a balanced degree of citizen participation.

The Primacy of Community Education. Community education, as Larry and Virginia Decker pointed out in their essay, can mean many different things. This is part of its appeal and why there are so many ways of approaching community education throughout the United States. The rich notions of “community” and “education,” two of the most enduring ideals in American culture, give rise to multiple pos- sibilities of being connected philosophically and in practice.

Two particularly important components of community education are needed to improve the quantity and quality of citizen participation. The first is a strong commitment among community institutions (including the school, the media, and civic organizations) to encourage learning among all citizens. This commitment reflects the most fundamental belief in our Western traditiorr-the primacy of reason as the basis for culture. While we may tolerate a degree of unreasonableness, our ideal and our expectation is that as citizens we are guided by knowledge and objective judgement. The strong concern of community education is to both nourish this capacity among the young and to further encourage it throughout the life of citizens. Without this capacity for learning and rationality, citizen participation is a hollow ideal, at best, and a dangerous practice, at worst. Therefore, education in and about com- munity is a condition for meaningful citizen participation.

The second important component of community education is the need to integrate the major institutions of community life (especially the family, school, and civic institutions). A major problem for many

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communities is the degree of fragmentation and isolation among various institutions. Community education, as a philosophy and as a strategy, challenges this fragmentation and encourages connections among institutions working in the community interest through coopera- tive activities and partnerships. Such efforts strengthen the capacity for citizen participation within a community by helping citizens and leaders from various institutions better understand the concerns and resources of other citizens and institutions.

Points of Departure While any of these suggested strategies can improve citizen par-

ticipation in a community, it is the presence of all, and their relation to one another, that offers the greatest potential for civic renewal. The ab- sence of any of the five strategies can weaken the fabric of community. Without a constituency for the whole community, fragmentation may prevail. Without a civic improvement agenda, there is no direction. Without a comprehensive citizen participation process, citizen involve- ment is usually haphazard and ad hoc. Without programs of empower- ment, elites dominate. And without community education, the capacity of citizens to engage in civic life is diminished.

If there is any touchstone in a process of civic renewal that gives rise to meaningful citizen participation, it is most likely the creation or resurrection of a constituency for the whole community. Every com- munity needs a time, a place, and a way for leaders and concerned citizens of all backgrounds to come together to address community in- terests greater than their particular interests. It is out of such dialogue that the ideal of community is renewed. An agenda and commitment to community renewal can be created from this process. Ideally, such an agenda for community renewal will also address the needs for strengthening the process of citizen participation, the empowerment of citizens who are excluded from community life, and the creation of community education programs.

Clearly, this ideal vision of integrated community building cannot al- ways be realized. Yet, this is not a reason to abandon a commitment to integrating these strategies and values. Even before integration, the process of community building is advanced by people who dedicate their energies to each one of these strategies. We call such people “civic entrepreneurs” because of their singular energy, dedication, and risk-

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taking ability. The leadership of civic entrepreneurs is key to initiating and maintaining different approaches to citizen participation in a com- munity. Some work for political parties, candidates, or on behalf of xtferenda issues. Some are government administrators attempting to improve the ways in which their agencies inform and involve citizens. Some are business executives who urge their companies and others to make constructive contributions to the community. Others are dedi- cated to organizing and empowering the poor, minorities, and the dis- abled. Still others attempt to improve the quality of learning oppor- tunities for all citizens and to encourage more cooperation among various institutions.

Every community needs to encourage and honor civic entrepreneurs. All of them in their own ways help to establish the building blocks of community and encourage different approaches to citizen participation. However, as long as they work in isolation from each other, the real potential for strengthening their community is limited. The individual contributions of civic entrepreneurs are important, but they are vitally enhanced when the leaders join together as a constituency for the com- munity as a whole and share a commitment to a broader agenda of com- munity renewal.