PARTICIPATORY BUDGETING AS AN INDICATOR OF ARTICULATED PUBLIC DEMAND
Keywords:
participatory budgeting, civic participation, public demand, local community, mahalla, urban infrastructure, social institutions, civic mobilization, public opinion, local governance, Nukus, UzbekistanAbstract
The article examines participatory budgeting as an institutional mechanism for articulating local public demands and civic participation. Based on three consecutive participatory budgeting cycles in Nukus in 2025–2026, a comparative quantitative and qualitative content analysis of 53 winning projects is conducted. The findings reveal a pronounced transformation in the structure of supported initiatives: from the dominance of projects promoted by educational and other social institutions during the first cycle of 2025, through a diversification of demands in the second cycle, to a strong concentration on road infrastructure in 2026. The article argues that voting results should not be interpreted as a direct measurement of public opinion, but rather as an outcome of interactions between community needs, institutional resources, territorial mobilization, moderation procedures and the capacity to mobilize votes. Participatory budgeting data can therefore serve as an additional sociological instrument for diagnosing local problems and changing urban priorities.
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