Public Spending, By the People: Participatory Budgeting in the United States and Canada in 2014-15

Author:
Public Agenda

Abstract:
From 2014 to 2015, more than 70,000 residents across the United States and Canada directly decided how their cities and districts should spend nearly $50 million in public funds through a process known as participatory budgeting (PB). PB is among the fastest growing forms of public engagement in local governance, having expanded to 46 communities in the U.S. and Canada in just 6 years. PB is a young practice in the U.S. and Canada. Until now, there’s been no way for people to get a general understanding of how communities across the U.S. implement PB, who participates, and what sorts of projects get funded. The report, “Public Spending, By the People” offers the first-ever comprehensive analysis of PB in the U.S. and Canada.

Full Text ยป