The PB Network has been reporting on innovations in Participatory Budgeting, and so we are pleased to read this update on Boston Youth Leads the Change on the Guardian Newspaper’s Cities webpages. As reported by Sandra Larson on the 31st March 2016: "When the city of Boston gave teenagers the power to allocate a million… Read More
Young people
Involving young people through Participatory Budgeting
The New York City Participatory Budgeting Rap
View the New York PB rap, produced in 2012, with music by Drew King, and created by the International Studies Film Collective – Marymount Manhattan College
Backroom knowledge and support is critical says USA experiences of PB
In a new article about the City of Cambridge (USA) PB programme, that saw $600,000 distributed last year the focus was on the role that city officials and community budget delegates play in refining ideas before they get on the ballot. This follows some controversy that half the money distributed last year went on one… Read More
Milan is first Italian city to use PB… and it starts at 9m euro for youth
The mayor of Milan, Giuliano Pisapia, is seeking the advice of teenagers to decide how to allocate 9 million euros (10 million dollars‘) worth of the city‘s budget, as part of a new grassroots democracy scheme. Milan is the first Italian city to engage in participatory budgeting, a process spearheaded in Brazil in the late… Read More
Highland Youth embrace online PB big time
A HIGHLAND Council appeal for Lochaber people to vote for the youth projects they wanted to receive a share of a £10,000 cash pot brought an overwhelming response from local folk. The exercise was part of a pilot project run by Highland Council to test how PB can reach young people in remote locations online…. Read More
Boston engaging thousands of young people in democracy
The City of Boston is making history for a second consecutive year as the city has allocated $1,000,000 of Boston’s capital funds for the youth to spend as they see fit! This process is called Youth Lead the Change: Participatory Budgeting Boston. Participatory Budgeting in Boston started with a series of public events in January,… Read More
Tower Hamlets “You Decide!”
In Tower Hamlets, a Participatory Budgeting project known as “You Decide!” was carried out across the whole Borough in 2009 and 2010. The Cabinet allocated £2.38 million per year for a two year period (total of £4.76 million) with £300,000 added by the local Primary Care Trust (PCT) in year two. A total of over… Read More
Youth focussed Participatory Budgeting in Colwyn Bay in 5th year and growing
Colwyn Bay Town Council will be running a fifth round of its Participatory Budgeting Programme. A programme that could reach a total of over £50,000 across neighbourhood 4 areas. Colwyn Bay is focusing on projects that support young people. Residents and local groups are being asked to decide who receives support through the initiative, which… Read More
Cheshire Police and Crime Commissioner mobilises 700 residents to get involved
Cheshire Police and Crime Commissioner John Dyer recently trusted residents of Grange in Runcorn with part of his budget, and the results have paid off. In a recent press release it is reported… The ten projects with the highest number of votes by the community of The Grange in Runcorn were announced at a packed… Read More
What happened when the city of Boston asked teenagers for help with the budget
In the USA they take a more direct approach to their politics. This report, from Hollie Russon Gilman describes a recent initiative in Boston that has re-energised youth participation and changed the way the budget is decided. This extract shows that Boston remains at the forefront of democratic innovation, hunderds of years after that memorable… Read More