Dissertation Title: In Search of New Township Democracy: Propagational Voting for Urban Development

Abstract: 

Cities represent spaces where diverse populations negotiate collective living, creating potential for both conflict and cooperation. The city or “Polis” triggered the term “Polites” (one lives in cities), which the term we know “Politics” refers to techniques and activities to live together including building consensus. This is not metaphorical, we today have exactly this issue when urban planning processes often face a tension: while communities express broad support for development and housing, they frequently resist specific local projects. Current community engagement mechanisms compound this problem by reducing complex, layered citizen concerns into simplified decisions made by a few officials/commissioners, while at the same time, creating procedural bottlenecks and gridlock. In Boston, even small development projects face years of review time, with community input processes that amplify rather than resolve underlying contradictions between collective need and individual experience.

This thesis introduces Propagational Voting (PV), a voting mechanism designed to capture the organic, multi-layered way people naturally reason about civic issues. PV allows participants to split their single unit of voting power across multiple targets at different levels of abstraction—from specific policy proposals to broader values—while enabling delegation to trusted individuals, groups, or institutions. PV functions as a superset that extends voting mechanisms including liquid democracy, offering a more expressive framework for trust delegation and preference aggregation. This method accommodates plurality in engagement styles: direct decision-making, selective delegation, and flexible resolution levels that mirror how people actually think and relate in small-group settings.

Referencing Suzuki’s original conception of Propagational Proxy Voting, this thesis further develops the concept through both theoretical modeling and empirical testing via workshops and surveys focused on urban planning challenges. The system not only aggregates preferences but reveals how influence flows through trust networks, providing insights into decision-making structures. Part One (sections 2-4) establishes the theoretical and computational foundations of PV, while Part Two (sections 5-7) explores its application to real urban planning scenarios through case-based analysis and participatory testing. This foundational thesis do have limitations, yet these gaps point toward creative solutions including AI-augmented delegation with safety guardrails, privacy-preserving cryptographic protocols, and dynamic consensus mechanisms applicable to real urban issues that adapt across multiple abstraction levels. This work presents a foundational framework designed for structured exploration at smaller civic scales, with empirical testing demonstrating feasibility while identifying pathways for broader application.

Voting should go hand in hand with the deliberation and co-design process. The core contribution bridges deliberation and voting by embracing rather than reducing complexity. Rather than dismissing contradictory responses as obstructive, PV treats them as valid expressions of layered reasoning. This foundational framework, designed for structured civic experimentation, points toward more peaceful, pluralistic governance—treating democracy not as a static institution but as a continuous direction of improvement toward systems that honor natural patterns of trust and contextual decision-making. To live together.

Committee members: 

Kent Larson, Professor of the Practice, director of  City Science  at the MIT Media LabKairos Shen, Chief of Planning for the City of BostonWesley Chow, Research Affiliate, MIT Center for Constructive Communication