Technology
Deliberative Democracy and Participatory Budgeting
Quick fact
The first modern participatory budgeting process was launched in Porto Alegre, Brazil in 1989. Since then, it has spread to over 3,000 cities worldwide, and studies show it often produces more equitable distribution of services and higher citizen satisfaction than traditional bureaucratic allocation.
Why this is interesting
What if citizens, not politicians, decided how to spend millions of dollars of public money? In some cities, this is exactly what happens—and it might work better than you think.