As democracy evolves, the design of its spaces must evolve too

In their new paper, Spaces for Deliberation: Eight Spatial Qualities for Designing Deliberative Assemblies, DemocracyNext Cities Programme Lead, James MacDonald-Nelson and DemocracyNext Fellow Gustav Kjær Vad Nielsen, explore how the built environment shapes what’s possible in citizens’ assemblies. Drawing from interviews with leading practitioners across six countries, they bring attention to a surprisingly overlooked factor in democratic innovation: space.

A citizens’ assembly is a lottery-selected group that reflects the broader community. Through guided deliberation, they develop shared recommendations for policymakers. For example, in Ireland, four major referendums (abortion, same-sex marriage, divorce, and blasphemy) followed such assemblies and all led to votes for change.

As the number of these assemblies grows worldwide - over 700 according to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) - and more are established as permanent institutions, DemocracyNext has identified a key issue: the spaces where they are held are often ill-suited for meaningful deliberation.

MacDonald-Nelson and Nielson’s paper reveals three key findings:

1. Spatial qualities are often carefully considered by conveners;
2. Practical requirements typically take priority over atmosphere and symbolic value when both cannot be achieved;
3. Common challenges include high costs, inaccessibility, and limited availability of suitable spaces.

The authors also explore how citizens’ assemblies often walk a line between imitating traditional parliamentary spaces and intentionally breaking from them to create more inclusive, innovative formats.

To help guide future design, the authors propose eight critical spatial qualities that support meaningful participation and deliberation:

1. Lighting (combining natural and artificial sources);
2. Acoustics (incorporating specific materials and appropriate room configurations);
3. Connectivity (ensuring proximity between spaces);
4. Symbolic value (considering the socio-cultural context and identity of a space);
5. Flexibility (allowing for rearrangement of furniture and equipment);
6. Atmosphere (creating environments both formal yet welcoming);
7. Accessibility (ensuring physical accessibility);
8. Technology (making technology visible and approachable).

As democracy evolves, the design of its spaces must evolve too. DemocracyNext invites urban designers, architects, public officials, and civic practitioners to rethink how the built environment supports participation - by design.

Read the full paper here.

Watch the recording from the launch webinar here.

Learn more about the Cities Programme here.

If you’d like to interview the authors, please contact Ruba Asfahani, Communications Lead.