participation and democracy go to town
We're in a global democratic crisis — but the most interesting experiments in fixing it aren't happening in national capitals. They're happening in neighborhoods. This podcast tells those stories.
"It Takes a City" explores participatory tools — from budgeting to citizen assemblies to legislative theater — through conversations with practitioners who've used them. We focus on lesser-known stories from communities with limited resources, because if participation can work there, it can work anywhere.
Each episode unpacks real tactics, strategic dilemmas, and honest failures. Our goal is practical guidance you can put to work — whether you're a local government official, an activist, or a policy student.
Human rights defender and advocate for resilient democracies. Co-led the Hungarian Civil Liberties Union for over a decade, supporting citizens and grassroots organizations in making their voice heard under closing democratic space.
Social innovator focused on government, justice, and climate. Co-founded Officine Italia to transform Italy's public sector starting from cities, with a focus on youth and innovation. Served as advisor to the Italian Minister of Infrastructure on urban policies. Additionally founded Reoassunto, an organization providing skills training and job placement support to inmates to reduce recidivism.
with Tessza Udvarhelyi, Vice Mayor of the 8th District of Budapest, Hungary
How can participatory processes become a winning edge in local elections, transform turnout and win a second mandate in a previously unthinkable district.
with Nyasha Frank Mpahlo, Executive Director of Green Governance Africa, Zimbabwe
Exploring how drama can bring community members together with government officials to better understand local problems and identify solutions, and how those solutions take place.
with Nina Asterina, Program Manager & Bima Pratama Putra, Senior Urban Designer at Kota Kita Foundation, Indonesia
Kota Kita Foundation's pioneering work within the Surakarta Inclusive City Movement to embed children's voices, agency and intergenerational respect in urban planning and placemaking.
with Amalia Zepou, former Vice Mayor of the City of Athens, Greece
The synAthina platform in Athens — how to develop digital tools for civic engagement and ensure inclusive participation in the process, from moving civil society online to devising new virtual governance models.
with Vasilika Laska, Director of Strategic Projects for the Municipality of Lezhë, Albania
The Zero Debt process in Lezhë — creating ecosystems of participation and input collection from scratch, including local stakeholders from all sectors and imagining new approaches to embed participation in governance.
with Sowmya Kidambi, CEO of the Social Work and Research Centre & Suchi Pande, Lecturer at the American University in Washington DC
This episode examines the history of social audits in India, focusing on a process in Delhi that mobilized low-income citizens. It traces how social audits evolved from grassroots activism to their adoption as regional and national regulation — creating transparency through a highly participatory process that empowers those usually excluded from decision-making.
with Graça Fonseca, Former Minister of Culture of Portugal and former Deputy Mayor of the City of Lisbon, Portugal
The Lisbon participatory budget — discussing the evolution and implementation of participatory budgeting, from ideation and design to practical implementation and their long term consequences.
with Dino Cantú-Pedraza, Founder and Director of Aceleradora de Ciudades, Mexico
How facilitation of participatory processes and direct support to city governments can accelerate change by disseminating best practices and building up capacity connecting skills and projects across different cities.
with Carl Henrik Knutsen, Professor at the University of Oslo & Mitch Stripling, Director of the NYC Preparedness and Recovery Institute, Columbia University
Grounding the practical insights collected in previous episodes with conversations with experts on crisis management and democracy, participatory processes, and the economic outcomes of democracies — trying to connect these to citizen participation.
First-hand experience from the field — successes, failures, and the strategic dilemmas nobody writes about.
Expert commentator. Author of "Citizens" and advocate for a shift from consumer to citizen culture in public life.
Pioneered children's participation in urban planning within the Surakarta Inclusive City Movement.
Works directly with 25 municipalities, proving that discipline and finding the right champion matter more than technology.
Designed Lisbon's participatory budget during the financial crisis and later took participation to the national stage as Minister of Culture.
Expert commentator. Researcher focused on participatory governance and democratic innovation in Latin America and beyond.
Traced social audits from grassroots activism to national regulation, creating accountability frameworks for vulnerable populations.
Makes the economic case for democracy: research showing democracies produce higher growth and better human development outcomes.
Led the Zero Debt participatory process, opening municipal financial planning to 450+ citizens and stakeholders.
Brought legislative theater to climate-affected communities, transforming confrontation between youth and government into collaboration.
Expert commentator. Pioneer of legislative theatre as a tool for policy change, working with communities and governments across the US and UK.
Studies how crises open space for collective creativity and challenge the assumption that urgency means no time to listen.
Flipped an unwinnable Budapest district twice through distributed leadership and daily participatory work under authoritarian national politics.
Built the synAthina platform from scratch, mobilizing citizens into public problem-solving during the financial crisis.