This dissertation examines how racial residential integration is understood, experienced, and governed in New York City, focusing on communities of color and the institutions meant to represent them. Despite decades of policy efforts aimed at fostering integration, racial segregation remains entrenched in urban spaces, with profound implications for equity and access. While policymakers and scholars often define integration through demographic metrics, this research reorients the discourse to center the lived experiences and priorities of Black, Latinx, and Asian residents. Through a mixed-methods approach, I explore three central questions: (1) How do communities of color define racial residential integration? (2) How responsive are New York City's participatory institutions, such as community boards, to these definitions and needs? (3) How do these dynamics shape community perceptions of local government? New York City residents overwhelmingly view integration not as demographic diversity alone, but as a vehicle for equity, inclusion, and access to resources. Participants emphasize that true integration must involve equitable service provision, participatory decision-making, and protection against displacement. While community boards provide a formal structure for public input, their effectiveness is uneven and often reflects entrenched spatial inequities. Communities of color routinely advocate for basic needs—affordable housing, healthcare, education—while more affluent, whiter neighborhoods prioritize quality-of-life improvements, highlighting disparities in resource allocation and institutional responsiveness. This dissertation advances a theoretical framework for “equity-centered integration,” It contributes to the literature on urban politics, participatory governance, and race and ethnic politics by demonstrating how integration is both a spatial and political process.