True Causes
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7/7 · Actions
30 people · 26 ideas
walkthrough · not counted
obstacles · anyone with the link · listed publicly · federation on
stewarded by its steward (sealed)
30 people · 26 ideas · 2 groups
Passport → · Logic → · record
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On another site, as a live map:
As a picture: https://truecauses.org/d/6f6c962/map.svg
As data: every judged pair in this room (CSV). Each claim has its own address, /c/6f6c962/<card>, listed under the map.
Credit when you publish: Causal map: True Causes, https://truecauses.org/d/6f6c962
THE QUESTION

Why do high-street shops keep closing?

Propose what to do, then judge whether each action would move each root.

Sealed 23 days ago: this room no longer knows who sat in it; only its steward is still named. What it concluded stays.
30 at the table (29 simulated) · 3 actions proposed against 4 root causes. Add one, then judge whether each action moves each cause.
Viewing as guest. Enter a handle to join and take part.
Score the roots first
why
The method's own practice, before any action is proposed: each root cause is scored 1–5 on how feasible it is to address, how much impact addressing it would have, and how likely it is to resolve by itself with no intervention. Priority goes to roots with high impact, high feasibility and low likelihood of fixing themselves — priority = impact + feasibility − likelihood. Scores are averaged across the group and shown with how many scored.
1 = low, 5 = high. Your own scores; the group's averages beside them.
root causefeasibleimpactfixes itselfpriority
Grants exist for shopfronts but the paperwork takes longer than a lease––––
The town's website lists shops that closed years ago––––
The council's economic plan was written for the whole district, not this street––––
Traders' association meetings are attended by the same five people––––
Would each action move each root cause?
Down the side: the actions people proposed. Across the top: the root causes the map found. Every square is one vote on one question — would this action significantly reduce that cause? One side has to reach 75% of the votes cast to settle it; short of that the square stays split. Each square shows how its votes fell — yes / worse / no — and a square is settled when one of those reaches three quarters of them.
why
Answered at 75% of votes cast, like every other question here. Split means people voted and neither side reached that bar — it is a result, not a queue, and it stays split until enough people change their minds. A square nobody settles stays undecided; it never turns into a no. Judging each pair on its own is what stops a popular action being credited with fixing things it does not touch.
ACTIONROOT CAUSES · does the action on the left reduce it?
Grants exist for shopfronts but the paperwork takes longer than a leaseThe town's website lists shops that closed years agoThe council's economic plan was written for the whole district, not this streetTraders' association meetings are attended by the same five people
Count footfall on the street for a year, published monthly, before any other decision discuss✗ no, it does not
7 yes / 0 worse / 22 no
✗ no, it does not
2 yes / 0 worse / 27 no
✗ no, it does not
5 yes / 0 worse / 24 no
not decided yet
Two hours free parking on the street, paid for from the retail park's business rates discuss✓ yes, it reduces this
26 yes / 0 worse / 3 no
✓ yes, it reduces this
27 yes / 0 worse / 2 no
✓ yes, it reduces this
22 yes / 0 worse / 7 no
not decided yet
A register of who owns each unit, kept by the council and open to traders discuss✗ no, it does not
7 yes / 0 worse / 22 no
✓ yes, it reduces this
24 yes / 0 worse / 5 no
✗ no, it does not
4 yes / 0 worse / 25 no
not decided yet
Highest leverage so far
Two hours free parking on the street, paid for from the retail park's business rates reduces 3 of 4 root causes
A register of who owns each unit, kept by the council and open to traders reduces 1 of 4 root causes
THE ACTIONS ON THE MAP
Showing every action the room judged: it acts directly on 3 of the 4 root causes. It does not act directly on 1.
Read from the squares the room settled at Actions, nothing else. A root in green is reduced by at least one of the shown actions; in grey, none of them acts on it directly; a red outline means one of them makes it worse.
Share this view: as a picture · as a live map for another site
Rent is due quarterly in advance, which a new business cannot fund → Charity shops pay lower rates, so landlords prefer themShops open at ten and close at four, after most people are at work → The market moved to Wednesday and the shops' best day went with itThe town's website lists shops that closed years ago → Events are organised by volunteers who are burning outTraders' association meetings are attended by the same five people → Shops open at ten and close at four, after most people are at workYoung families shop where there is a toilet and a place to park a pram → Festival days bring people in and there is nothing to keep themYoung families shop where there is a toilet and a place to park a pram → Residents drive past the high street on the way to the parkGrants exist for shopfronts but the paperwork takes longer than a lease → Traders' association meetings are attended by the same five peopleEvents are organised by volunteers who are burning out → Festival days bring people in and there is nothing to keep themEvents are organised by volunteers who are burning out → Residents drive past the high street on the way to the parkShopkeepers say they were never asked before the one-way system came in → Rents were set when the street was full and have not come downShopkeepers say they were never asked before the one-way system came in → Festival days bring people in and there is nothing to keep themThe council's economic plan was written for the whole district, not this street → Events are organised by volunteers who are burning outRent is due quarterly in advance, which a new business cannot fundRent is due quarterly inadvance, which a newbusiness cannot fundThe town's website lists shops that closed years ago ② Two hours free parking on the street, paid for from the retail park's business rates ③ A register of who owns each unit, kept by the council and open to tradersThe town's website listsshops that closed years ago②③what the shown actions do to this root causeREDUCED BY 2 ACTIONSYoung families shop where there is a toilet and a place to park a pramYoung families shop wherethere is a toilet and aplace to park a pramGrants exist for shopfronts but the paperwork takes longer than a lease ② Two hours free parking on the street, paid for from the retail park's business ratesGrants exist for shopfrontsbut the paperwork takeslonger than a lease②what the shown actions do to this root causeREDUCED BY 1 ACTIONShopkeepers say they were never asked before the one-way system came inShopkeepers say they werenever asked before theone-way system came inThe council's economic plan was written for the whole district, not this street ② Two hours free parking on the street, paid for from the retail park's business ratesThe council's economic planwas written for the wholedistrict, not this street②what the shown actions do to this root causeREDUCED BY 1 ACTIONRents were set when the street was full and have not come downRents were set when thestreet was full and havenot come downEvents are organised by volunteers who are burning outEvents are organised byvolunteers who are burningoutTraders' association meetings are attended by the same five peopleTraders' associationmeetings are attended bythe same five peoplewhat the shown actions do to this root causeNO ACTION ACTS ON ITDIRECTLYCharity shops pay lower rates, so landlords prefer themCharity shops pay lowerrates, so landlords preferthemFestival days bring people in and there is nothing to keep themFestival days bring peoplein and there is nothing tokeep themResidents drive past the high street on the way to the parkResidents drive past thehigh street on the way tothe parkShops open at ten and close at four, after most people are at workShops open at ten and closeat four, after most peopleare at workThe market moved to Wednesday and the shops' best day went with itThe market moved toWednesday and the shops'best day went with it
Each number on the map marks a root cause that action reduces.
① Count footfall on the street for a year, published monthly, before any other decision
② Two hours free parking on the street, paid for from the retail park's business rates
③ A register of who owns each unit, kept by the council and open to traders
FROM ACTIONS TO A PLAN
The grid judged each action on its own. A plan is a set of them the room would carry out together.
Members put plans together from the actions that reduce a root cause, and the room compares the plans two at a time, at three quarters of the votes cast, as it judged everything else. Each plan shows which root causes it acts on directly, which it does not, and which it makes worse.
The steward can open a plan comparison.
What we expect to follow
Predictions about the actions: what each should change, how to measure it, and when to check. On the date, someone who was in the room writes what actually happened beside it.
why
A map says which actions move which causes. It does not say whether anyone did them, or whether anything changed. An entry here is a prediction with a date and something to measure, written after the map settled. When the date comes, what actually happened is written beside it and the prediction stays as it was: a wrong one is the useful kind. Nobody voted on any of this and it changes nothing the room found.
due 25 Sep 2027
actionCount footfall on the street for a year, published monthly, before any other decision
we expectwhether the street is busier is a number rather than an opinion
measured byweekday footfall on the high street, % change on this year
guessesthe room: 5 (median of 15, spread -5 to 15)