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Participatory budgeting project
Participatory budgeting (PB) is a democratic process in which community members decide how to spend part of a public budget. It gives people real power over real money.
PB started in Porto Alegre, Brazil, in 1989, as an anti-poverty measure to reduce child mortality. Since then, PB has spread to over 3,000 cities around the world, and has been used to decide budgets from states, counties, cities, housing authorities, schools, and other institutions.
The New York Times calls PB 'revolutionary civics in action' – it deepens democracy, builds stronger communities, and creates a more equitable distribution of public resources.