Rehovot Launches Citizen Assembly to Decide Public Space Use

The Rehovot Municipality has launched a new initiative to deepen public engagement by establishing a municipal citizen assembly. This assembly will focus on decision-making processes regarding the use of public spaces and buildings within the city. Participants will be randomly selected from a pool of volunteers to ensure a representative sample of the city's population.

The initiative is a collaboration involving several municipal departments, including Social Services, Resident Services, Engineering, and Community Security, along with community activists and the "Democracy 3.0 - Citizen Assembly Lab" from the Shalom Center for Sustainability. The goal is to enhance community resilience, build mutual trust, and foster genuine partnership in shaping the urban environment.

A citizen assembly model allows a diverse group of residents to thoroughly study pressing urban issues, gain information from various perspectives, engage in discussion, reach consensus, and formulate recommendations for decision-makers. Rehovot, with its diverse communities, is seen as a unique model for creating a shared space that benefits everyone.

The assembly's central question will be how to best make decisions about the use of public spaces and buildings across the city's neighborhoods to meet the needs of all residents and communities. Seventy-one residents will be chosen by lottery to ensure proportional representation of the city's neighborhoods and communities, creating what is described as "an entire city in one room."

Selected participants will undergo approximately 40 hours of training spread over seven sessions, including learning from experts and guided discussions. Following this, the assembly will produce a report of recommendations for the municipal leadership, who are committed to reviewing and responding to these recommendations transparently. An open meeting will also be held for all city residents.