Participatory Budgeting (PB) is a welcome experiment in deliberative democracy, one that could produce progressive politics and social transformation.  With this in mind, PB in New York City explicitly targets low-income and minority groups for mobilization by design.  Indeed, data shows that New York City’s PB process has effectively engaged traditionally marginalized groups during the past four years. For example, immigrant participation in New York City’s PB process has steadily increased, growing from 19% to nearly a third of all PB voters. Similar patterns are also evident for low-income, youth, and other minority groups.  Our research aims to deconstruct the PB process in ways that reveal the factors that facilitate and inhibit participation among marginalized communities.  In particular, we focus on immigrant communities as they one of the larger and politically marginalized groups in New York City.

This research is conducted in conjunction with Dr. Ron Hayduk of Queens College and Diana Tamashiro Folla.

Papers in Progress:

• Hayduk, R., Hackett, K., and Folla, D. T. (2017).Immigrant Engagement in Participatory Budgeting in New York City. New Political Science as part of a Special Issue on Participatory Budgeting In NYC.