Urban Citizenship and Participation: The Problem of Inclusion in 'Hybrid' Participatory Budgeting

Abstract

In recent years the notion of urban citizenship has been explored by political theorists seeking to build a response to the crisis of nation-based citizenship (Beauregard and Bounds 2013; Baubock 2003). This panel will focus on the emancipatory potential of urban participatory practices where citizens are engaged with local authorities in deliberative processes shaping public policies and the management of urban space (Pateman 2012; Fung 2004). In particular, the panel aims to discuss the rise of participatory budgeting (PB) as one of the most successful innovation paradigms of the last decade, already implemented in more than 1400 European municipalities and over 3000 worldwide (Sintomer et al. 2013). This panel aims to discuss two main issues, drawing upon both theoretical analysis and case studies. First, it will explore the conditions to which PB practices can become drivers of inclusive urban citizenship. PB processes shape local public spheres regulated by their own mechanisms of inclusion/exclusion (Ganuza and Francés 2012) that can be explicit - as when, for example, New York City opens its PB process to city residents without regard to their legal citizenship status - or discursive. What are the drivers of inclusion in structured participation and in what measure its inclusive potential can contribute to an extension of an urban citizenship? Second, it will engage with opportunities and challenges introduced by the role of technology and the internet as potential avenues of civic participation. From the use of Facebook to SMS-verified voting, the last decade has witnessed the development of new PB practices making widespread use of tools from the digital realm (Peixoto 2009; Allegretti and Spada 2013). In what measure the hybridization of urban participatory processes with ICT–based collaborative tools help or hinder their inclusive potential?

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