Deliberation Falls Church City

Video highlights & survey results for fall deliberations

Ninety-seven people who live or work in Falls Church City deliberated on October 25 and 27 about the future of the City Center. They met in small groups; they engaged a panel of city leaders; and, they proposed actions that individuals, community groups and government should take with respect to information sharing, community and citizen engagement, and city policies.  In a post-event survey, two-thirds of 73 respondents called for better information via the City website on City Center developments. 

There is interest in a possible spring deliberation on the topic, What Does It Mean For Falls Church to Be An Independent City?

Video clips

Click on the hyperlinks below to view YouTube clips that highlight themes struck at the deliberations.  The YouTube clip will open and play in your web browser.

Questions, suggestions & conversation - Various deliberators (8 minutes, 29 seconds)

How we got here - Peter Holran (3:31)

What it should be and how to finance it - Steve Rogers (4:56) and Gary LaPorta (3:38)

VPIS' perspective - Keith Thurston (4:19)

Architects' perspectives - Paul Barkley (4:09) and Paul Emmons (5:18)

Ways forward - Pete Behr (4:33) and Wyatt Shields (6:25)

Survey ranks deliberators' action ideas

Deliberators suggested 32 actions that individuals, community organizations or government should take regarding the future of the City Center.  In a subsequent online survey, 73 respondents rated those suggestions.  Two of the highest rated suggestions were:

·    Keep City website on City Center up to date (84% rated this Most Important)
·    Create a website that consolidates all City Center information to give citizens current information in one place (78% rated this Most Important)

A suggestion for an "e-development newsletter" got significantly less support (48% ranked this Most Important).  The survey results resonate in the YouTube clip remarks by one deliberator that citizens should not need to attend public meetings in order to be up to speed on City Center developments.

As found by a survey after deliberations last spring, large majorities of respondents want more community organizations and individuals to engage in City affairs through voting, civic action, and other means. 

The highest-rated policy suggestion on the City Center was that sidewalks be wider than 14 feet, which 60% of respondents rated Most Important.

The complete results of the survey can be accessed in PDF form by clicking here.  The discussion guide, What is the Future for the City Center? can be accessed in PDF form by clicking here.

What deliberation can do and has done in Falls Church City

Deliberation Falls Church City offers a chance to be heard, and a reason to listen.  Over 250 people have deliberated, responded to surveys, or otherwise gotten more involved in community life through deliberation this year.

Deliberation is a tool for use in community education and, if widely desired, community problem-solving.  Deliberators sometimes change their minds based on what they hear; for a few, deliberating is a catalyst to action.  More often, deliberators gain a better understanding of differing' points of view; they come to value deliberation as a safe public space in which to speak and learn about crucial public issues.

The two sets of deliberations undertaken in 2007 in Falls Church City were educational, not problem-solving.  This was intended.  Educational deliberations aim to raise civic engagement, a goal which deliberators have endorsed.  Problem-solving deliberations are used in communities where the political process is deadlocked or a failure; deliberators have not suggested that is the case in Falls Church City.

Deliberation Falls Church City is an experimental effort to determine whether and how deliberation can play a useful role in a functioning body politic.

Some of the most appreciative deliberators have been new residents of the City.  We hope to keep extending the reach of the deliberations and diversify participation more.  Our primary means to do so is via sponsoring community organizations, and via the DFCCVA website and our email list. 

You can help. 

• Send a friend a link to this post with the suggestion they join our e-mail list by visiting www.DFCCVA.org  and entering their email address into the "Get email updates" box.

• Ask us to speak about deliberation to your neighborhood association or community organization.  Just write us at Steering@DFCCVA.org.

Spring deliberations

After the fall deliberations a group of volunteers met and discussed a possible topic for a spring deliberation: What does it mean for Falls Church to be an independent city? This topic could be an issue for deliberation prior to the upcoming City Council elections.

Thank you for taking an interest in deliberation in Falls Church City.

Organizing DFCVA: "Deliberation Falls Church"

A message from the League of Women Voters of Falls Church:

Like many others in Falls Church as well as in the country at large, the Falls Church League of Women Voters worries about the diminishing pool of people willing to seek political office. At the national level, the reasons may be primarily financial, but in our own jurisdiction they appear to be a combination of lack of time and perceived lack of knowledge regarding the issues. Therefore, the League’s interest was piqued recently when we were approached with a project designed to increase citizen involvement and education, and ultimately perhaps, increase the number of citizens interested in active candidacy. Another appealing aspect of the project is that it would specifically include high school students, and through them, involve younger and newer-to-the-city residents as well.