Why is it important to ask the citizens?
How to create a really comfortable city space that meets the needs of the citizens?
The best way is to ask the citizens. That’s where participative design and participative budgeting become important instruments for city development
🔍The story of Participative Budgeting (PB) started in the 1980s in a million-people city Porto-Alegre, capital of Rio-Grande-Do-Sul, the southest state of Brazil. The reforms initiated then in the city were directed to help the poor people, many lived in slums and didn’t have access to clean water, sewerage, hospitals, and schools.
🌟Successful experience of Porto-Alegre was starting to spread: at first, in Brazil, later in other Latin American countries.
💡The tendency to implement PB is rising — it starts to be integrated into complex systems of citizens involvement. Now PB is used in more than 1700 cities around the world, being adapted to different localities.
👀But why actually is it important to ask the citizens? And what it brings to the project?
We want to give you a list of advantages that participative budgeting gives to city administration (or any organization working with territory) and to citizens.
So, citizen engagement gives organization the following:
1) 👍The positive image of the organization. Demonstration of interest in the problems of the city will undoubtedly be positively perceived by citizens, provided that all actions of organization will have at least a minimal result.
2) 💰Prioritization of the budget. If the majority of residents choose to create a quiet zone with benches, then there is no point in wasting the budget on creating a noisy area with a stage and kiosks. And vice versa.
Local residents, like no one else, know the problems of the territory and will help to find the best way for it’s development
3) 👩🦰🧑Formation of a sustainable community of residents. Dialogue with the citizens helps to identify the most active groups who will continue to discuss important issues, come to meetings, and informate others about the development of the territory. Thus, a certain “backbone” of civil society is formed, a group of people interested in improving their yard, district, city.
4)🙌 Formation of a stable community of business and non-profit organizations. Business representatives, as well as various public organizations have a direct impact on the development of territories. They can not only support the project financially, but also informationally, share knowledge, take part in the direct improvement of the territory with their own hands, and provide any other additional resources.
And most importantly, such organizations can become a source and start of change, help establish a dialogue with the population, and involve residents in the process. Partnerships with business and various non-commercial organizations will help to form a real community for its development in the territory.
5)😊Reducing conflicts among the population. Often on the territory there are groups of the population with diametrically opposite views and needs (young people and the elderly, families with children and dog owners, representatives of different nationalities, etc.). An open dialogue can help these groups finally discuss issues of concern in a more organized format, weigh THE PROS and CONS, and gain support from the administration. In communication, a compromise is born, and therefore ways of solving previously existing conflict situations.
6) 🌳The basis for the strategy for the development of the territory, the basis for the designers. Initiatives and ideas of residents, identified during population surveys, can form the basis for future projects for the development of territories, projects for the design of the urban environment. Where to add a path, where there are not enough playgrounds — all this can be pointed out by residents who know their city best of all.
And what do the citizens get out of participative budgeting:
1) 📍Ability to express your opinion. Everyone wants their opinion to be heard and taken into account. Residents often have a lot of very interesting and practical ideas for the development of the territory, they have experience and knowledge in certain areas. And also actively participate in the life of the district. The main thing is to provide residents with different options for participation, so that everyone can choose a convenient format for themselves.
2) 👋Search for like-minded people, getting to know neighbors. In the process of discussing ideas, residents can unite according to their interests, form support groups for certain initiatives. For some, the process of participative budgeting will be an excellent opportunity to get to know neighbors and demonstrate their active position. This is especially true for young families with children or people who have recently moved to a new home.
3) 🌲🌳Feeling of belonging to the territory. Often, acts of vandalism or neglect of the territory take place where people do not feel that they belong to the space. Direct participation in the discussion or implementation of projects (especially planting plants, construction of wooden objects, creation of art objects, cleaning of the territory, etc.) allows people to feel that this is really their courtyard, district, city. A person will not destroy or spoil what he has created with his own hands. Moreover, active citizens are ready not only to look after their territory, but also to protect it from unscrupulous citizens.
4) 🎓Formation of a more active civic position, raising the general cultural and educational level. Often people do not even know what opportunities the state provides them, they are not familiar with modern trends in urban planning and urban studies. Informing about the practice of participative budgeting, about examples of modern urban spaces, allows you to form new interests among residents, broaden their horizons, provide an opportunity to join activists and urbanists, learn how to correctly express their opinion and argue it, as well as participate in discussing other people’s ideas.
5) 💰Direct participation in the distribution of the budget. Proactive budgeting is one of the few cases where you can really see how funds are being allocated and take part in it.
6) 🔥The ability to help identify really important issues. Residents know best of all the urgent needs of the courtyard, district, city. Drawing public attention to really important things is a responsible task that should not be neglected.
This all sounds very well, but what if we get not ideas but a lot of complaints instead?
It’s all about how to ask
Often people do not want to ask because they are afraid to receive negativity and complaints instead of ideas and suggestions.
To get your answers back on track:
- Define the task correctly. Your portal or survey should be called “Ideas for….” etc. It’s simple, but it’s often overlooked.
- Ask the right questions. Ask residents — How would you like to see this space? What would you like to add here? Avoid the words problem, fix, etc.
- Set categories. If you do not want to receive complains about holes on the road, immediately suggest discussing more positive categories — landscaping, sports fields, etc.
- Encourage. You can offer residents gifts for the most interesting ideas. Believe me, no one wants to submit a message about the fallen off plaster to the competition
- Educate. Often, residents simply do not know what to offer. Show them helpful videos about comfortable urban environments and urban trends. This will help the residents to get inspired.
Thanks. This all sounds good. We understand now, how important is participative budgeting. But do you have a clue at what steps should be taken to implement it?
Yes, and we want to share with you this few but very important steps. See our icon graphics below
All this knowledge is based on our own experience, and we are glad to share it — if you want more tips for engaing the citizens into the discussion of city territories — join our page in Facebook or Twitter.
And it you want to know more about our experience in online-engagement — feel free to visit this link and read more about it
