In Rome: “For centuries, the Forum was the centre of day-to-day life in Rome: the site of triumphal processions and elections; the venue for public speeches, criminal trials and gladiatorial matches; and the nucleus of commercial and legal affairs.”
My idea only seeks to sow the first seeds of this, while mending the relationship between the demos (voters) and our representatives. We do this by the simple expedient of having dedicated spaces where we can talk. Literally common ground.
To be used for MP surgeries, hustings and public meetings of a political nature. The famous town meeting in the movie Jaws springs to mind. Every room will have a blackboard …
They should be publicly funded, fully staffed and available to everyone wishing to engage in public debate. Imagine making copies of Speaker’s Corner, but properly policed.
Political parties and candidatea in elections should be allocated small, secure areas for privacy and security.
Every other area should be open, but secured by state of the art AI body language aware surveilance systems and trained security personnel armed (lethal and less lethal) and VISIBLE.