Public hearings don't resemble open mic nights that we often use to gauge a third space's vibrancy; rather, our raised daises and three-minute-exactly-never-over speaking time resemble courtrooms On one side, those with the power, and down below, the plaintive petitioners.
Scott Lazenby, the then city manager of Lake Oswego, Oregon, wrote an article ICMA's blog about how we need to rethink the design of council chambers. He references Donald & Alice Stone's article in the academic Public Administration Review "The Administration of Chairs", which is, literally, an article about how to better arrange the chairs in a room to make people feel more comfortable. Lazenby and Stone aren't alone, either—the Environmental Protection Agency, has put together a briefing on improving public meetings and hearings (albeit circa 2003). In their briefing, they explicitly say that to allow for genuine two-way communication, "the spatial layout should not intimidate people" and then states that a classic method for said intimidation is a "raised stage".
The planners role is to plan good spaces for others. That said, it's also important to plan our own and make them the inviting, welcoming, and affirming places too. Metaphorically, (and perhaps literally) we ought to lower the stage.
Think critically not just about whether or not the content of our discussions as policymakers and policy advisors benefits the public, but if how we present that content does too.
Identify alternative arrangements for deliberative chambers to make citizens feel like they are active collaborators in the governance process, not like they are requesting a favor from the authorities.
Plan better indoors and plan better spaces for planners and other local government staff, not just planning outside for the public.