Civic decision infrastructure for cities

From static permits to conditional agreements.

Cities are increasingly shaped by temporary use, shared resources, and evolving civic needs — yet most permission systems still rely on rigid forms, fragmented workflows, and binary decisions.

Civic Ledger is an AI-supported permissioning system that helps cities process requests to use shared urban assets — such as public spaces, community facilities, and temporary infrastructure — through structured, conditional, and auditable workflows.

It supports public authorities, stewards, and communities to assess requests, evaluate risks, apply conditions, coordinate stakeholders, and record decisions as reusable precedents.

Beta apps & tools
Android Beta App →iOS Beta App →
Beta 1.0 launched 16 July 26 · Korean service with partial English support available.
A note on authority
Civic Ledger supports human decision making. It does not automate final public decisions.

Each step is designed to be visible, reviewable and accountable. Public servants and stewards retain final authority over outputs.

§ 01 · Problem

Cities operate in real time. Permission systems often do not.

Current public permissioning systems are often too rigid, slow and form-based to support timely use of underused urban assets.

Many temporary or community-led uses — such as pop-up events, shared parking, local care activities and short-term occupancy — do not fit standard permit categories. Even low- to medium-risk civic uses often face delay, rejection or inconsistent handling across departments.

The problem is not lack of demand. Most municipalities lack a workflow that can rapidly assess context, coordinate stakeholders and issue conditional approvals without escalating every case into manual exception handling.

Problem · 01

Rigid categories

Many temporary or community-led uses do not fit standard permit types, so they are treated as exceptions.

Problem · 02

Unequal access

People with more administrative knowledge or institutional access can navigate permission systems more successfully than others.

Problem · 03

Slow coordination

Requests often move manually across fragmented departments, creating delay and inconsistency.

§ 02 · Definition

What is Civic Ledger?

Civic Ledger is a civic coordination infrastructure for managing requests to use shared and underused urban assets.

Residents and community groups describe needs in everyday language; stewards and place operators define workable conditions; public servants review and authorise decisions through a structured, auditable workflow.

Rather than asking only whether a request should be approved or denied, Civic Ledger asks: under what conditions could this use become possible, safe and accountable?

On the word "ledger"
The ledger is not only a technical record. It is a civic memory of what was requested, what was agreed, under which conditions, and what was learned.
Function · 01

Make requests legible

Translate everyday language into structured and reviewable cases.

Function · 02

Move from yes or no to yes, if

Generate conditional agreements that balance rules, risks and contextual trade-offs.

Function · 03

Build a learning record

Record each case as a reusable precedent for future decisions and workflow updates.

§ 03 · How it works

From request to reusable precedent

Civic Ledger processes each request through a six-step protocol, routes it through a proportional pathway, and keeps final authority with human actors.

  1. Step 01 · Intent

    A citizen, steward or organisation signals what they want to do and why.

  2. Step 02 · Proposal

    The request, written in everyday language, becomes a structured and reviewable case.

  3. Step 03 · Conditions

    Rules, location, timing and local context assess risk and route the case.

  4. Step 04 · Agreement

    Conditions for use are shaped through structured negotiation where needed.

  5. Step 05 · Proof

    The agreement is recorded as a verifiable and auditable commitment.

  6. Step 06 · Learning

    Outcomes from real use inform future rules and workflows — feeding the next request.

Proportional routing

Not every request needs the same level of review. Civic Ledger routes cases through proportional pathways depending on risk, complexity and local context.

Pathway · 01

Direct approval

For low-risk uses that meet existing rules and conditions.

Review level: Minimal · Speed: Immediate
Pathway · 02

Conditional negotiation

For non-standard or medium-complexity uses where a workable agreement may be possible.

Review level: Coordinated · Speed: Iterative
Pathway · 03

Human review

For cases that require additional public review, coordination or institutional judgement.

Review level: Extended · Speed: Considered
§ 04 · Pilots & use cases

Where Civic Ledger is being tested and imagined

Pilots ground the system in real cities. Use cases are speculative scenarios — sketches of where conditional permissioning could go next.

Pilot Now

Underutilised spaces and dynamic urban use across three Korean municipalities

An active proof of concept exploring how shared urban assets can be requested, coordinated and activated across different municipal contexts in Korea. Current pilots focus on structured workflows for handling requests, routing cases and managing conditional approvals for underused public assets and community spaces.

Visit WeSharing →
Pilot proposal Future

Conversational rule-making and dynamic urban licensing with Daegu Metropolitan City

A developing collaboration with Daegu's Urban Regeneration Bureau and the Suseong Smart City Division, coordinated through Daegu Technopark. The work explores how conversational workflows, conditional licensing and adaptive governance mechanisms could support more dynamic use of shared urban assets across changing civic conditions.

Current discussions focus on how requests might move through direct approval, conditional negotiation and human review pathways while contributing to future governance learning and more adaptive forms of civic coordination.

Coming soon
Speculation / Research Future

More-than-human permissioning

Research exploration developed through RCA design investigations

Developed through RCA design investigations, this work explores how permissioning could extend beyond human actors to include objects, environmental conditions and civic infrastructure. The prototypes tested temporary structures, sensing systems and evolving rules to support more flexible, context-aware use of shared space.

Open collaboration notes → shared later
Speculation / Research Future

Discovery of spatial potential through temporary micro-tools

Research exploration developed with RMIT and UTS collaborators

Developed with RMIT and UTS collaborators, this work explores how modular seating, movable thresholds and responsive public objects can reveal new uses for underused urban spaces. Temporary permits, environmental data and lightweight civic tools allow shared spaces to appear, adapt and disappear as conditions change.

Open collaboration notes → shared later
§ 05 · Writing

Writing & research

Civic Ledger builds on a wider body of work on civic permissioning, shared assets, adaptive governance and public space. These writings provide the deeper background behind the project.

What Changes When You Redesign Urban Permission?
Essay Jun 26

What Changes When You Redesign Urban Permission?

The Problem Is Not Permission Itself — It's the Structure of Permission.

Coming soon
Civic Ledger five-step protocol diagram
Essay Jun 26

Making Rules Through Dialogue, Not Votes: How Protocol-Based Permitting Works

'No' is easy. Conditions are harder. Only one moves a city forward.

Coming soon
How Trust Becomes the Infrastructure of Urban Permission
Essay Jun 26

How Trust Becomes the Infrastructure of Urban Permission

Cities don't lack trust. They lack infrastructure for judging it.

Coming soon
Permissioning the City 2025 update
Update Apr 25

Permissioning the City — 2025 update

A project update on the journey from early concept to product development.

Read →
Development journey Day 1, 2 and 3
Reflection Sep 24

Development journey Day 1, 2 and 3

Reflections on user journeys, scenario building and the transition from project to product.

Read →
Permissioning the City
Provocation Jul 23

Re:Permissioning the City

Unlocking cities' growing underutilised spatial assets for an emergent civic economy.

Read →
§ 06 · Updates & materials

Updates & materials

Recognition, articles, demos and project materials related to Civic Ledger, adaptive governance and permissioning research.

§ 07 · Contact

Work with us.

Civic Ledger is developing partnerships with cities, civic organisations, researchers and funders exploring new approaches to adaptive governance, shared stewardship and urban coordination. The work is especially relevant for places facing underused assets, fragmented permissioning systems, unequal access to space or growing pressure for more responsive public services.

Get in touch → civicledger@darkmatterlabs.org