Presented at: GSEF2016 Montreal

Organisation: New York City Council (Government and public agency)

Date: September 7, 2016

Presenter: Ms Melissa Mark-Viverito

Contacts: jtaranto@council.nyc.gov

Summary:

In a nation where only 20 per cent of young people vote and many more feel excluded or alienated from the political process, how can we engage residents in new ways and provide historically disenfranchised populations with opportunities to take ownership of the communities where they live and work? New York City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito will discuss the U.S.’s largest participatory budgeting initiative, which has helped New Yorkers – especially low-income communities, young people and undocumented immigrants – vote on how to invest $30 million in their neighborhoods, and how this model of participatory governance is extending to encompass areas such as land use and urban planning.