Participatory Budgeting - Implementation Around The World

Implementation Around The World

Since its emergence in Porto Alegre, participatory budgeting has spread to hundreds of Latin American cities, and dozens of cities in Europe, Asia, Africa, and North America. More than 1200 municipalities are estimated to have initiated participatory budgeting. In some cities, participatory budgeting has been applied for school, university, and public housing budgets. These international approaches differ significantly, and they are shaped as much by their local contexts as by the Porto Alegre model.

A number of towns and cities in France, Italy, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom have initiated participatory budgeting processes. In Canada, participatory budgeting has been implemented with public housing, neighbourhood groups, and a public schools, in the cities of Toronto, Guelph, and West Vancouver. Similar budget processes have been used in communities in India and Africa. In France, the Region Poitou-Charentes has launched an experience of participatory budgeting in its secondary schools. The first recorded Participatory Budgeting process in the United States of America is in Chicago, Illinois. Led by the ward's Alderman, Joe Moore, Chicago's 49th Ward is undertaking this process with the Alderman's "Menu Money." Menu Money is a yearly budgeted amount each of Chicago's 50 wards receives for use on capital expenses. This money in other wards is typically allocated at the complete discretion of a ward's Alderman. Since 2011 more examples have been occurring in the US, in the city of New York, and now in Vallejo, California .