Many local governments struggle to include more residents in their projects and often find that some voices are much louder than others, and many people aren’t heard at all. To remedy this, cities are trying to increase their diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts. But before starting to meaningfully implement...
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Looking to launch a participatory budget in your city? You’ve come to the right place. CitizenLab works with over 200 local governments to help them boost community engagement, and over the years we have accumulated experience working on participatory budgets of all shapes and sizes. Here are some of the...
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We originally published this piece on CityAM.com It’s official: the long-awaited climax of the London Mayoral race is scheduled for May 6th, when polling stations across the city will throw open their doors for the first time since the start of the pandemic. But in a world now heavily mediated...
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Ghent, known for its beautiful market squares and stunning medieval city center, is the capital of the Belgian province of East-Flanders. With more than 260,000 inhabitants, Ghent charmingly combines the hustle and bustle of a bigger city with a small town’s cozy atmosphere. The city of Ghent has a longstanding...
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Local councils’ planning and regeneration teams have a strong track record in involving residents in the decision-making process to co-create urban places. Over the last few years, these teams have started to harness various digital tools, a process that has been significantly accelerated by the current pandemic. What are the...
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2020 didn’t quite turn out as planned. This year should have been the year where we celebrated our 5th birthday with a bash and launched our first global conference. Instead, it was a year where we collectively had to reinvent the way we work, the way we connect and the...
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If you’re reading this post, chances are you’re probably already convinced that citizen participation is a good thing. However, what you might not be so convinced about is that involving citizens in decision-making can be done without huge amounts of resources. And yet, it’s true thanks to digital participation! In...
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Participatory budgeting can be a powerful tool for cities to educate, engage, and empower communities. This blog post is an excerpt from our Beginner’s Guide to Participatory Budgeting. Curious to learn more? Download it for free! What is a participatory budget? Over the years, participatory budgeting has become a buzzword...
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The municipality launched its participation platform “Doe Mee Leiden” at the beginning of 2020 with a survey on the redevelopment of the Roomburger Park. The intention was to look at how the park could be transformed into a fully-fledged recreational park. With more than 950 participants, this survey turned out...
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Participatory budgeting is one of the most popular forms of citizen consultation. More than just a buzzword, the tool is used by elected officials who want to make public governance more accessible and transparent. Far from applying a generic formula, each community creates its own process based on its own...
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