Civics education targeting adults and students has become of core teaching interest of mine. I am developing a civics education program focused on local government in NYC with an eye to moving from information to action. After NYC, we hope to expand to new localities and conduct field experiments on the political behavior impacts of the program. With the help of excellent political science students at Columbia, some of these sessions will be piloted on zoom and in Brooklyn in summer 2026. The pilot will presented be me or one of my student research assistants, but we hope to recruit local teachers to bring this information to the community in the final version and will include relevant local reps, activists, and officials to bring government closer to people and we’ll have group activities to attend local government events so you can make friends while you civically engage. The pilot application will be in Manhattan and Brooklyn, NY and are looking for collaborators in NYC, Philadelphia, or another city if you’d like to adapt the program to another city or county.
Module 1: Civics 101 (NYC, Draft Slides; Los Angles, Draft Slides).
This session introduces local government responsibilities and pathways for citizen participation that engages local representatives and office holders. Participants will learn which elected and unelected officials are responsible for key issue areas, where public meetings take place, and how to connect the issues they care about to specific offices, agencies, and decision-making processes.
Module 2: Housing.
This session explores how local government shapes housing policy, zoning, and tenant protections. Participants will learn how to engage with planning meetings, city council decisions, and housing authority processes.
Module 3: Policing and Public Safety.
This session focuses on the role of local government in policing and public safety. Participants will learn how to engage with police oversight bodies, budgeting processes, and advocacy efforts related to accountability and community safety.
Module 4: Campaigns and GOTV.
This session covers local elections, primaries, and issue campaigns. It will introduce ways to engage in campaigns and voter outreach and provide some best practices for mobilizing people to vote or join campaigns. We plan to invite campaign managers or representatives to explain their experience in this area.
Module 5: Local News, Misinformation, and Citizen Journalism.
This session provides an overview of local news ecosystems and equips participants with tools to identify credible information and navigate misinformation. Participants will also learn how to gather information directly through public meetings and government sources.
Module 6: Social Services.
This session covers the role of city government in social services including SNAP, services for the homeless; medicaid, mental health services, etc. We will also examine how different NYC administrations have approached social services and how elections can impact these services.