By Renato Castelo
How would you spend $2 million of the city’s money to benefit your community? That’s the question we’re asking Boston residents as the City heads into its first-ever city-wide Participatory Budgeting process this July.
But first, what is Participatory Budgeting?
When Mayor Michelle Wu announced the Office of Participatory Budgeting in late 2022, she called it an opportunity for “direct civic engagement to shape our budget.” The office was created following a ballot initiative to provide a new way for residents’ voices and ideas to be represented.
Originally developed in Porto Alegre, Brazil in 1989, Participatory Budgeting is a civic engagement process that empowers community members to decide how to spend part of a city’s budget. The Brazilians’ idea was to “Democratize democracy” by bringing more equitable participation in public spending, particularly for marginalized communities.
This comes at a critical time when record numbers of people nationwide report feeling distrust toward the government. According to the Harvard Kennedy School’s 2024 Youth Poll, trust in major public institutions has fallen by up to 50 percent over the past decade.
Participatory Budgeting can provide an opportunity to combat this mistrust as residents come together and connect with local government in a meaningful way. Since its development, Participatory Budgeting has been adopted by more than 1,500 cities worldwide, including by our neighbors in Somerville and Cambridge.
Now in its tenth year of Participatory Budgeting, Cambridge residents recently voted to fund projects ranging from free menstrual care dispensers, to smart recycling compactors, to public toilet upgrades.
While these are not the massive government programs we are used to, they are practical ideas that come from the community and benefit people at a grassroots level.
I was honored to be named the first director of the Office of Participatory Budgeting for Boston by Mayor Wu, and look forward to administering our first $2 million process in concert with our External Oversight Board. Our mission is to help create accessible spaces for civic engagement, collect ideas, and ultimately put these ideas in action.
As a native of Ecuador who made Boston my home several years ago, I understand the challenges many immigrants and newcomers face in accessing government due to mistrust in public institutions, civic apathy, and language and cultural barriers. That’s why we are ensuring this engagement is done in partnership with local community groups and is multilingual and accessible to people from all walks of life.
Boston’s ‘Youth Lead the Change’ initiative has run a youth Participatory Budgeting process since 2014. Building on that, we will also include the opportunities for youth to participate in the citywide process, which can plant the seeds for lifelong civic engagement.
July is Idea Collection Month
This July, the City will co-host a series of public forums in collaboration with non-profit partner organizations where people can propose and discuss their project ideas. Residents can also engage via an online portal, phone line, and via Participatory Budgeting corners at Boston Public Library locations.
Eligible ideas could include funding for programs to strengthen mental health among Boston youth, digital literacy classes for older adults, or workforce training for those reentering society after incarceration. Infrastructure projects are also eligible, such as expanding the City’s free Wi-Fi networks or enhancing public art and green spaces.
Our office will work with residents to develop the top ideas into a 15-proposal ballot, and in January of 2025, we will open up the process for voting and in the spring we’ll begin implementation of the winning proposals.
As we embark upon our inaugural year of Participatory Budgeting in Boston, I invite you to join us this July. Visit www.Boston.gov/participate to share your project ideas online or find an Idea Collection Workshops nearby. Participants may also call the PB Phone Line at (617) 635-3059 or visit a PB corner at your local Boston Public Library branch.
We look forward to putting your ideas in action and helping inform our City’s future budget investments. Renato Castelo is director of the Office of Participatory Budgeting in Boston. He holds a Masters in Education Policy from Harvard University and nearly 15 years of civic engagement experience.