Participatory budgeting (PB) is a process in which residents propose, discuss, and vote on how to spend part of a public budget. The Participatory Budgeting Project describes it as “a democratic process in which community members decide how to spend part of a public budget.” PB began in Porto Alegre, Brazil, in 1989 and has spread to many cities, usually covering a defined pool of capital or discretionary funds rather than a whole budget.
Definition
PB has three defining features: a real budget amount set aside in advance, a process through which residents propose and develop projects, and a vote by residents that determines (or strongly guides) which projects are funded. New York City’s version fits that pattern: the City Council describes PB as a process in which “community members directly decide how to spend part of a public budget,” with projects for “local improvements to schools, parks, libraries, streets and other public spaces”.1
PB is a binding form of resource allocation, as opposed to a survey exercise: the vote spends real money, within limits set by the government.
Origin and history
The Participatory Budgeting Project states that PB “started in Porto Alegre, Brazil, in 1989, as an anti-poverty measure,” and reports that it has reached “over 7,000 cities around the world”.2 That count is the organization’s own figure and includes very different programs, from small pilots to citywide processes.
In New York City, “in 2011, four New York City Council Members” launched a PB process.1 The Council says projects “cost at least $50,000” and must “have a lifespan of at least 5 years”,1 which limits PB to capital improvements rather than ongoing services.
How participatory budgeting works and what research shows
A PB cycle moves from residents’ ideas, through developed project proposals, to a public vote and then implementation by the government. New York City’s 2026 cycle, for example, included a “nine-day districtwide vote, taking place April 11-19, 2026”.1
Evidence on outcomes is mixed and context-dependent. A 2013 study by Sónia Gonçalves in World Development, as summarized by the network People Powered, examined Brazilian municipalities from 1990 to 2004 and found that municipalities using PB channeled “a larger fraction of their budgets to investments in sanitation and health services,” and that “this change is accompanied by a reduction in infant mortality rates”.3 The Participatory Budgeting Project’s own page describes Porto Alegre’s PB as having helped reduce child mortality “by nearly 20%”;2 that figure comes from an advocacy organization and is reported here as its claim. Findings from Brazil may not transfer to cities with different budgets, institutions, and needs.
Critics and practitioners point to recurring risks: budget shares too small to matter, participation skewed toward people with more time and information, and projects that reflect organized groups rather than broad need. Whether PB widens or narrows participation gaps depends on outreach and design.
Common confusions and neighboring terms
- PB vs. resource allocation survey. A survey records preferences; PB decides spending.
- PB vs. budget consultation. A consultation asks for comments on a draft budget; PB hands a share of decisions to residents.
- PB vs. ballot measure. A bond or tax measure goes on an official ballot under election law; PB votes are run by the program, with its own eligibility rules.
- PB vs. priority ranking. PB chooses specific projects; a priority ranking orders subjects.
How My Vote Forward uses the term
My Vote Forward does not run participatory budgeting. Its demo includes a simulated allocation of a defined fictional pool of new funding, which is a preference exercise, not a PB vote. The framework’s Cases chapter discusses Porto Alegre, and Participation between elections places PB among other between-election practices. The distinction between allocation and priority is set out in Tradeoffs.
What My Vote Forward can and cannot do here
My Vote Forward can explain PB, show its evidence and limits, and keep its own allocation exercises clearly labeled as simulated. It cannot allocate public money or run official PB votes.
Unresolved questions
- Does PB change who participates in civic life, or mainly engage people who were already active?
- How large a budget share is needed for PB to matter, and how small before it becomes symbolic?
- Can PB’s project focus coexist with long-term, citywide needs that no single neighborhood project addresses?
Sources
- New York City Council, “Participatory Budgeting.” council.nyc.gov/pb
- Participatory Budgeting Project, “About PB.” participatorybudgeting.org/about-pb
- People Powered, “Effects of PB on Municipal Expenditures and Infant Mortality” (summary of Sónia Gonçalves, World Development, 2013). peoplepowered.org/…
