Do you have any citations, perhaps a study of what actually happens in some of these cities? My personal experience with direct democracy involving a small comm

Do you have any citations, perhaps a study of what actually happens in some of these cities? My personal experience with direct democracy involving a small community is that while interested groups may show up, they will listen to the other concerned community members who also listen to them, leading to a more compromised and reasonable position. I'd be curious to find out at what sizes this breaks down.