Between May and October of 2025, the Boulder Valley Community Assembly (BVCA) convened 48 residents over the course of 7 in-person sessions to learn, deliberate and provide recommendations for the implementation of 15-minute neighborhoods in Boulder, Colorado. The residents were selected via democratic lottery to form an Assembly body that was varied and representative of the Boulder Valley community at large.

FIDE – North America’s independent evaluation, based on surveys, interviews, and field observations, found notable increase in sense of community (87%), belonging (21%), empathy for differing perspectives (84%), and a confidence in capacity for civic engagement (15%). The Assembly’s learning and deliberative process, which allowed for reduced polarization and deeper listening across lines of difference, ultimately created an enabling environment for 59% of participants to shift their own beliefs concerning 15-minute neighborhoods.

Key lessons were the value of group activities to break divisions and foster social cohesion, the impact of including interpreters and creating a fully bilingual process, the challenges of a mandate geared towards policy planners and not reflective of the priorities of some Boulderites, the lack of increased trust in government (unique to this Assembly), and theimportant role facilitators play in fostering a productive environment.

Overall, Assembly members in Boulder found this Assembly to be a largely positive experience largely delete, enough so that there was a clearly stated desire for more Assemblies in the future.