Examples of Participatory Budgeting

There are over a thousand municipalities and institutions implementing PB, and it is impossible to keep track of them all.

Tiago Peixoto of the European University Institute has developed a GoogleMap to display many of these examples, using a broad definition of PB. Below are some of the most developed and interesting PB processes, illustrating the diversity of models.

North America

Latin America

Europe

North America 

• Chicago’s 49th Ward

Starting in 2009, residents of Chicago’s diverse 49th Ward have decided how to spend the $1.3 million capital budget of Alderman Joe Moore. Residents identified spending ideas and selected community representatives in neighborhood assemblies, these representatives developed full project proposals from these ideas, and then residents voted on which projects to fund.

• Toronto Community Housing

Since 2001, Toronto’s social/public housing authority has engaged tenants in allocating $9 million of capital funding per year. Tenants identify local infrastructure priorities in building meetings, and then budget delegates from each building meet to vote for which priorities receive funding.

• Montreal’s Plateau Borough

The Montreal borough Plateau Mont-Royal implemented a PB process in 2006, 2007, and 2008 for its capital budget. The process evolved each year, starting as one large assembly and later incorporating a series of meetings and the election of neighborhood delegates. Up to $1.5 million per year was allocated.

• Guelph’s Neighbourhood Support Coalition

A coalition of grassroots neighborhood groups in Guelph, Ontario, has been allocating a pot of public and foundation funds since 1999. Each year, the groups meet separately and then together, to decide how to spend roughly $300,000 from diverse sources. The funding is generally used for services and programs, which are delivered by the neighborhood groups themselves.

• Ridgeview Elementary School, West Vancouver

Students at Ridgeview Elementary, a public school, decided how to spend $2000 from the Parent Advisory Council budget through a PB process in 2005. Students developed project ideas in classes, voted on each class’s top idea, and then voted on the top idea for the school in a school-wide assembly.

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Latin America 

• Porto Alegre, Brazil

Porto Alegre, with nearly a million and a half residents, was the first city to launch a full PB process, in 1990. Since then, over 100,000 residents have turned out to decide how to spend up to 20% of the city’s annual budget. Participants attend a series of neighborhood assemblies, and after months of discussions budget delegates deliver a participatory budget to the city for implementation.

• Belo Horizonte, Brazil

Belo Horizonte, population 2.5 million, has had a district-level PB since 1993, a Housing PB since 1996, and a digital PB (e-PB) since 2006. Through both local assemblies and online voting, residents allocate over $50 million per year.

• State of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

The Southern state of Rio Grande do Sul, home to Porto Alegre and over 10 million people, implemented PB between 1999 and 2002. During each annual cycle, people met in assemblies in each of the state’s 22 regions, to identify priorities for public works and services. Delegates from each region then worked to harmonize the proposals into a single budget. 1.2 million people participated over the 4 years, deciding on over 12% of the state’s budget.

• County of Paysandú, Uruguay

In 2005, the Departamento (County) of Paysandú began implementing an annual PB process. The county is a mix of rural and urban areas, with 113,000 people, 1 city, and 8 local town boards. The process includes a mix of both local territorial assemblies and thematic assemblies assemblies focused on issues of particular local concern.

• Rosario, Argentina

Rosario’s participatory budget consists of an annual cycle in which over 4,000 city residents decide how to allocate $8 million of the city budget. In this city of 1 million people, residents discuss spending ideas at neighborhood assemblies, elected delegates develop full budget proposals, and then residents vote on the proposals at another round of voting assemblies. The funds can be spent on both capital projects and services or programs.

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Europe 

• Tower Hamlets, London, UK

The Tower Hamlets ‘You Decide!’ project began in January 2009. In the first four months 815 residents spent almost £2.4 million through 8 events. The money was from the central council budget and was spent on services.

• Newcastle, UK

In 2008, Newcastle launched a PB process in which 450 young people helped decide how to allocate the city’s £2.25m Children’s Fund. After months of preparation, youth age 5-13 attended a PB event at which they voted electronically for services targeted at young people. Their votes were incorporated into the Fund’s complex procurement process, weighted to count for 20% of the final spending decisions.

• Seville, Spain

Seville, with 700,000 residents, is the largest European city to implement PB. Since 2004, residents have decided on roughly 50% of spending for their city districts, for capital projects and programs. They can submit project proposals online or in neighborhood assemblies, and after a series of meetings, locally elected budget delegates deliver the participatory budget to city hall for implementation.

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