9. The Case For Participation: Crisis, Governance And Opportunity

In Episode 9, the final episode of the season, we take a step back. With our two guests, we look at the bigger picture: could participatory programs help address the crisis of democracy?Our two experts come from very different fields. Mitch Stripling works at the intersection of philosophy and disaster management and is the Director of the NYC Preparedness and Recovery Institute. Carl Henrik Knutsen is a professor of political science and economics at the University of Oslo and an investigator at the Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem) project.While we agree that democracies are in crisis today, we also discuss how crises can become catalysts for positive change. Professor Stripling shares an encouraging story about the 1985 Mexico City earthquake, when a disaster became an opportunity for systemic transformation. A key precondition is that those who have benefited from the system come to see what those less well off have long known: that the system is failing.In those moments, there is a window to build something better, not by restoring what was not working, but by reimagining the entire system. In Mexico, after the earthquake, this led to the creation of labor unions for garment workers.—We’re living through a global democratic crisis, and elections around the world are sending a clear message: the system isn’t working.It Takes a City is a podcast about participation and democracy, hosted by Stefania Kapronczay, a human rights advocate working on resilient democracies from Budapest, Hungary, and Flavio Proietti Pantosti, a social innovator and entrepreneur focused on public administration from Rome, Italy.Through conversations with practitioners, we explore lesser-known stories of participation, often from communities with limited resources. Each episode unpacks real tactics, strategic dilemmas, and honest failures, with the goal of offering practical insights.Visit https://takesacity.com/ or get in touch at ⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠.