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The City of Edmonton held a Participatory Budgeting Pilot in 2 neighbourhoods, Balwin and Belvedere, to distribute up to $70,000 of Neighbourhood Revitalization Funding. The pilot provided residents, business owners and operators, and non-profit organizations with the opportunity to help decide how to distribute public money to benefit Balwin and Belvedere.
The following six community projects were selected to receive funding:
Submitted by KARA Family Resource Centre
A year-long celebration with four community events: a spring treasure hunt, a summer kick-off, a fall potluck and soccer party, and a winter festival.
These events seek to meet the community's need for social cohesion, cultural enrichment, and a sense of belonging.
Total: $10,000
Submitted by Belvedere Community League
Bring community members together through a year-round celebration, featuring events like a Winter Festival, Movies under the Stars, Neighbour Day BBQ, return of the Fall Festival, and a rink-opening and Christmas Celebration with skating, crafts, and treats.
Total: $15,000
Submitted by Trinity Church
Address the need for a meeting place for youth ages 8 and up to learn a variety of skills, and enjoy interacting with each other and community members of all ages.
Total: $5,000
Submitted by Balwin Community League
Invigorate the Balwin community by fostering good neighbour relationships and build a sense of pride in the community by hosting two events: a Spring celebration with musical acts and a Summer BBQ in collaboration with KARA Family Resource Centre; and one program: a subsidized seniors fitness program at the Balwin Community League Hall. Funds will also be used to create a website.
Total: $7,500
Submitted by Princeton School
Princeton School will plan and implement a public mural that will bring more colour and vibrancy into the community and on school grounds. The mural will represent the diversity of backgrounds reflected in the community. The funding will allow the school to consult with the broader community, plan and create the mural by the fall of 2024.
Total: $14,000
Submitted by Balwin School
Public art murals at Balwin School that will visually and socially connect community members. Students, families, and community artists will be involved and will seek to create an inclusive environment, with diverse visual representations, including Indigenous culture and multicultural connections.
Total: $17,500
Participatory budgeting (PB) is a democratic process in which community members decide how to spend part of a public budget.
Participatory budgeting started in Porto Alegre, Brazil in 1989, as an anti-poverty measure that helped reduce child mortality by nearly 20%. Since then, PB has spread to over 7,000 cities around the world and has been used to decide budgets from states, counties, cities, housing authorities, schools and other institutions.
Community members share and discuss ideas through workshops and online tools.
Community members turn their ideas into feasible proposals, with support from City staff.
Winning proposals are picked through a community vote.
The City funds the winning ideas, and community members implement their projects.
In Summer 2022, Councillor Keren Tang (Ward Karhiio) and Councillor Andrew Knack (Ward Nakota Isga) piloted the City of Edmonton’s first “Community-Based Budgeting” projects.
Through a collaborative and interactive process, Ward Karhiio and Ward Nakota Isga community members were invited to help decide how to spend part of Councillor Tang and Councillor Knack’s office budgets.
Participants were encouraged to think of ideas for small, on-the-ground projects that seeded and stimulated improvements in their communities.