josh Lerner                          lines of flight

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Writing

Writing Projects:
Making Democracy Fun? Games as Tools for Democratic Participation
My first book (forthcoming from MIT Press) and dissertation explores if and how games can enhance democratic participation. I map how games have been used as tools for democracy, illustrate the political lessons of game design theory, and compare participatory processes using games in Argentina and Canada. I find that participation tends to be more attractive and effective when games and game design techniques are used.

Learning Democracy By Doing
Since 2005 I have worked with Daniel Schugurensky to study what and how people learn by engaging in participatory democracy, in particular through field research on participatory budgeting in Rosario, Argentina.

Participatory Budgeting in North America
Since 2003, I have researched the initial participatory budgeting experiences in North America - in Toronto, Guelph (ON), Montreal, Vancouver, and Chicago.

Communal Councils in Venezuela
In 2006 I went to Venezuela to evaluate communal councils, an emerging national experiment in participatory democracy.

Democracy at the World Social Forum
In 2005 I researched the open space organization of the World Social Forum, and how it facilitated or impeded democratic participation, networking, and decision-making.

Publications:
"Playing with Power: Participatory Planning Games in Rosario's Villas," Latin American Perspectives, Vol 40, Number 2, 2013.

"By the People for the People: Participatory Budgeting from the Bottom Up in North America," (with Donata Secondo) Journal of Public Deliberation, Vol 8, Number 2, 2012.

"Our Money, Our Decision: Participatory Budgeting Takes Root in New York City," (with Donata Secondo) Social Policy, Vol 41, Number 4, Winter 2011.

"Winning Back the Government's Love (and Money)," Shelterforce, Summer 2011.

"Participatory Budgeting: Building Community Agreement around Tough Budget Decisions," National Civic Review, Vol 100, Issue 2, 2011.

"Government can't solve budget battles? Let citizens do it," (with Daniel Altschuler) The Christian Science Monitor, April 5, 2011.

"Chicago’s $1.3 Million Experiment in Democracy," (With Megan Wade Antieau) YES! Magazine, April, 2010.

"Learning Democracy through Participatory Budgeting: Who Learns What and So What?," in Elizabeth Pinnington & Daniel Schugurensky (eds.), Citizenship Learning and Participatory Democracy Throughout the World, Cambridge, MA: Cambridge Scholarly Press, 2009.

"Participatory Budgeting in North America: The Case of Guelph, Canada," (with Elizabeth Pinnington & Daniel Schugurensky) Journal of Public Budgeting, Accounting and Financial Management, 2/3(21), 2009.

"Money Talks: How Participatory Budgeting Can Transform Politics," Grassroots Economic Organizing, 2(1), Summer 2008.

"Four Lessons for Progressives from Venezuela's Recent Referendum", VenezuelaAnalysis.com, December 6, 2007.

"Could Participatory Budgeting Work in the United States?," (with Gianpaolo Baiocchi) The Good Society, 16(1), 2007.

"La Dimensión Educativa de la Democracia Local: El Caso del Presupuesto Participativo," (with Daniel Schugurensky) Revista Temas y Debates, 13, 2007.

"Participatory Budgeting: A New Tool for Democratic Decision Making," (with Jez Hall) Transformation Journal, no. 5, Spring 2007. (article on participatory budgeting in the UK) [PDF version]

"Una Nación de Democracia Participativa? Los Consejos Comunales y el Sistema Nacional de Planificación en Venezuela", (with Juan Carlos Rodríguez) Revista SIC, 693, April 2007. [PDF version]

"Communal Councils in Venezuela: Can 200 families revolutionize democracy?", Z Magazine, 20(3), March 2007. [PDF version]

"Who Learns What in Participatory Democracy? Participatory Budgeting in Rosario, Argentina", (with Daniel Schugurensky) in Ruud van der Veen, Danny Wildemeersch, Janet Youngblood and Victoria Marsick (eds.), Democratic Practices as Learning Opportunities, Rotterdam: Sense Publishers, 2007. [PDF of earlier version of chapter, presented in 2005]

"Let the People Decide: Transformative Community Development through Participatory Budgeting in Canada," Shelterforce, 146, Summer 2006. [PDF version]

"Participatory Budgeting in Canada: Democratic Innovations in Strategic Spaces", (with Estair Van Wagner) The Transnational Institute, 2006. [PDF version]

"Why the World Social Forum Needs to Be Less Like Neoliberalism", Toward Freedom, January 16, 2006. [PDF version]

"Planning Open Space: The World Social Forum and Neoliberalism", Progressive Planning, 163, Spring 2005.

"Up, Down, Inside, Outside: (New) Directions for Progressive Planning in the U.S.", Progressive Planning, 162, Winter 2005.

"Building a Democratic City: How Participatory Budgeting Can Work in Toronto", City of Toronto, Community Engagement Unit, 2004.

"Beyond Civil Society: Public Engagement Alternatives for Canadian Trade Policy", Canadian Institute for Environmental Law and Policy, 2003.

 
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