Framework 1: Exploring the Layers of Civic Life

Exploring the Layers of Civic Life

Here are key insights into the layers and dimensions of a community’s civic life. These insights are drawn from the Wichita work and from other Harwood Group projects. 

INSIGHT #1

AT LEAST FIVE DISTINCT LAYERS OF CIVIC LIFE EXIST IN A COMMUNITY.

A. OFFICIAL. 
The layer of official politics and institutions in a community. People in the community engage this layer through such places as city council meetings and public hearings.

B. QUASI-OFFICIAL. 
The layer made up of organizations and people who are involved with, for instance, citizen associations, local municipal leagues, advocacy groups and others.

C. THIRD PLACES. 
The layer of civic conversations and spaces where people gather to talk and do things together. Third places include churches and synagogues, community socials, barber shops, diners, child care centers.

D. INCIDENTAL. 
The layer of civic life where people interact informally on sidewalks, at the market, in backyards. Here people bump into one another. 

E. PRIVATE. 
The layer that occurs in the privacy of people’s homes. 

 Journalist’s Challenge

When journalists venture into civic life, often they gravitate to the official and private layers. Then when they want more sources, they expand the number of people within those layers.

Even when seeking sources beyond the official and private layers, journalists tend to tap into the quasi-official layer. But leaders in this layer (and even many citizens) often do not accurately reflect the voices and perspectives within a community. Increasingly, quasi-official groups are facing the same complaints of being as disconnected from citizens as are official institutions.

 

INSIGHT #2

EACH LAYER OF CIVIC LIFE WORKS IN ITS OWN WAY.

When entering various layers journalists will see: 

A. PEOPLE ARE ATTRACTED TO DIFFERENT LAYERS. 
Some people feel very comfortable in a third place, and yet seldom enter a quasi-official or official space. Journalists must not assume that by dropping into certain civic layers they are capturing the full dimensions of civic life.

B. THE PURPOSE AND NATURE OF CIVIC CONVERSATIONS DIFFER FROM LAYER TO LAYER.
Conversations in official settings tend to be framed narrowly, focusing on technical policy or regulatory questions. Often they are polarized by the most strident voices. In third places, journalists will find conversations that move in between gossip, community concerns, and people bouncing their ideas and thoughts off one another. 

C. “UNSPOKEN RULES” SHAPE CIVIC SPACES. 
Journalists need to judge carefully how particular civic spaces and conversations work before plunging in, asking questions and taking notes. To the left are some examples of unspoken rules and the challenges they present.

INSIGHT #3

THE HEALTH OF DIFFERENT CIVIC LAYERS VARIES IN A COMMUNITY.

Some layers of civic life are healthy and robust while others are in decline, squeezed out by community development patterns, the increased pace of life, social fears and isolation. Here are a couple of points to keep in mind when seeking to understand the health of civic layers. 

A. THERE CAN BE WEAKNESSES WITHIN A LAYER. 
For instance, even though civic spaces may be identified in the third layer, the actual number may be few. The challenge for journalists is to keep digging deeper to discover more civic spaces (such as ones in someone’s home or backyard), or to find other ways to bring people together for conversations. 

B. THERE CAN BE GAPS IN BETWEEN LAYERS. 
The connections between different civic layers are important because, in a healthy civic life, information and insights travel from one layer to another, which is how a community informs itself and makes decisions. For journalists, the lack of connections between layers will make it more difficult to follow how a public concern develops, how people speak about and relate to the concern, and how newspapers can provide coverage that draws on people’s sense of context.

 Journalist’s Challenge

Examples of Unspoken Rules 

Each civic conversation will have its own pace.

Some topics may be off limits, while others will dominate.

 Each space will have a different feel and tone.

 People within many civic spaces may not feel comfortable talking with a journalist. 

The Challenge

  Need to figure out the pace of questions so as not to change the nature of a civic space. 

Figure out the natural focus of the civic space. Only when there is a sense that enough trust has been established should journalists attempt to expand the focus. 

 Listen for how people talk in the space. For instance, the interactions within a space may be driven by a variety of factors, such as emotions, language, jokes, storytelling. 

 Asking questions and taking notes may need to wait until a journalist first builds a relationship with people in a civic space. 

VIEW THE GRID — THE LAYERS OF CIVIC LIFE

SKIP TO FRAMEWORK 2 — MAKING SENSE OF DIFFERENT AREAS

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