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 4,500 people from New York and the tri-state area gathered on July 20 and July 22 at the Jacob Javits Convention Center to play a role in rebuilding Lower Manhattan. Over the course of the day-long forums, participants in "Listening to the City" deliberated about options for redeveloping the World Trade Center site and considered issues that must be addressed to help people rebuild their lives in the aftermath of September 11 and memorialize those lost Format: The historic forums combined technology with face-to-face dialogue, using a format developed by AmericaSpeaks, a non-profit organization that has pioneered techniques for bringing citizens to together in large forums while preserving the benefits of face-to-face dialogue. |
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Participants in "Listening to the City" held 10-12-person roundtable discussions, each led by a trained facilitator skilled in small-group dynamics. A network of laptop computers recorded ideas generated during the discussions. Each tablešs input was instantly transmitted to a "theme team" composed of volunteers and America Speaks staff that identified the strongest concepts from the discussions and reported them back to all the participants. Participants also had the opportunity to answer yes or no questions and rank preferences at certain points during the meeting, using electronic keypads. The results of these polling questions were then instantly displayed to all of the participants on large screens around the room. Who Attended? 4,300 people from the metropolitan region attended the July 20 town meeting and another 200 people attended a smaller forum on July 22. Overall, the demographics of the two meetings were quite diverse, and very similar. Participants came from all walks of life and all parts of the region 53% of the participants were female and 47% were male, while the region is 52% female and 47% male. In addition, 27% of the participants were 20 to 34 years old, compared to 22% for the region. People 65 and older made up 10% of the forum, close to the regional figure of 12%. 66% of the participants were Caucasian, compared with 64% in the region. Only 7% of the participants were African-American, compared to 20% in the region. A relatively high number of individuals (9%) reported "none of the above" when asked about their race. Participation was distributed fairly evenly among income brackets, with a somewhat higher representation of higher incomes. Residents of Manhattan were significantly more highly represented than the rest of the region. The Civic Alliance will continue to try to ensure that all voices are proportionally represented at future activities. July 20 participants related to the events of 9/11 and the rebuilding of Lower Manhattan in a variety of capacities: 8.9% had a family member who was a 9/11 victimResults: The complete Listening to the City results are recorded in the "Report of Proceedings" (September, 2002) (pdf download) A preliminary summary report is also available for download. (August 1, 2002) Additional Documents: Listening to the City Participant Guide, July 20 & 22, 2002. (pdf) Listening to the City Report of Proceedings, February 7, 2002 (pdf) Online Dialogue: Shortly following the meetings at the Javits Center, an additional 818 people participated in an "Online Dialogue" sponsored by Web Lab. Participants followed an agenda similar to the one that governed the Javits Center sessions, but over a two-week time period in 26 small virtual discussion groups. In all, roughly 10,000 messages were exchanged during the online dialogue and important themes were sifted from it. Participants were able to make their priorities known through 32 polls based primarily on the themes that emerged from the discussions. | ||||
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