Though the United States is currently structured as a representative democracy, where elected officials make laws, policies, and other decisions on behalf of their constituents, practices like PB can help move the country towards a direct democracy, where people participate in government in meaningful ways beyond just voting in elections every couple of years. PB gives the people an opportunity to meaningfully engage in democratic decision making processes, develop and vote on solutions to the problems that they’re experiencing, and have a say in how their tax dollars are spent.

“I argue that we haven’t actually experienced true participatory democracy in these United States of America just yet. But democracy is a living, breathing thing. And it’s still our birthright.” -community leader and Participatory Budgeting Project Co-Executive Director Shari Davis (source)

When people get to experience democracy working for them, it strengthens trust in and enthusiasm for the democratic process. A Participatory Budgeting Project white paper explains, “People who get engaged in PB tend to stay engaged. The ability to contribute to tangible results through the process can be addictive; knowing that change is possible motivates people to push for more. New leaders emerge through PB and go on to organize other community movements that strengthen the city.” PB participants are more likely to go on to vote in local and national elections, consider going into politics, reach out to public officials, and volunteer in their community. That’s particularly important at a time when fascism is arguably on the rise, public trust in government is at a near historic low (according to a 2022 Pew Research report, just 20% of Americans say they trust the government to do what is right most of the time), frustration with government is high (the same report states that a mere 8% of Americans describe the government as responsive to the needs of ordinary Americans), voter turnout in presidential elections continues to trail behind other countries with democratic traditions (the United States ranks 31 out of 50 when comparing the voting-age population turnout in member countries and candidates of the OECD), and voter turnout in municipal elections remains staggeringly low (fewer than 15% of voting-eligible Americans vote in municipal elections, and in some cities, average turnout is in the single digits).

PB is for everyone, including folks who are often restricted or otherwise prevented from voting, such as youth, non-citizen residents, and formerly incarcerated folks. This is hugely important, not only because all people deserve to weigh in on decisions affecting the communities that they’re a part of, but also because important insights and brilliant solutions are missed when segments of the population are excluded from democratic processes. PB programs often account for this by designing PB processes specifically to center the folks most impacted by voter disenfranchisement and suppression. For instance:

• In Boston, the City’s Youth Lead the Change program empowers youth (age 12 to 25), and particularly low-income youth, youth of color, and immigrant youth, to allocate one million dollars of the City’s capital budget through a bi-annual, youth-led PB process. City agencies donate
• In New York City, PBNYC was created with the express intent to involve folks who weren’t already active in politics. As of 2015, four years after PBNYC was launched, nearly a quarter of the city’s PB participants had a barrier to voting in regular elections, whether they were formerly incarcerated, under the age of 18 (kids over the age of 11 can participate in PBNYC), or without US citizenship. An analysis of PBNYC participants found that PB processes more accurately reflected the demographics of their districts than regular elections. In particular, people of color, low-income residents, and residents born outside of the US were better represented.

Particularly as national and international leaders continually fail to act at the speed and scale necessary to ward off extreme climate change scenarios and keep communities safe through escalating disasters, PB programs at the local and regional scale can empower communities to utilize their capital budget to launch projects that will help minimize their environmental impact, keep communities safe amid extreme weather, and bolster recovery efforts during and after disasters. PB programs allow for climate solutions that are more:

• Effective: As community organizer Carmen Piñeiro said while reflecting on the importance of the community-driven solutions that emerge in PB programs, “Who knows better about their community than the people who live in the community?” Projects that make it through the PB process have been developed and honed by the folks who understand the challenges that their communities are facing firsthand. Projects also tend to be more successful because participants are invested in their success! They shaped these projects themselves, so they tend to stay engaged past funding and implementation stages.
• Nimble: Because PB programs give community members the opportunity to vocalize their concerns and priorities on a regular basis, and not just while politicians are campaigning, PB can help communities to be responsive and fast-acting in the face of changing conditions.
• Cost-effective: Because PB participants want to make the most of their allotted budget, they work together to find creative and crafty ways to get results.
• Supported: Projects that end up receiving PB funding have made it through several rounds of democratic decision making processes. Grievances have been aired and projects have been improved upon. By the time that a project receives funding, it’s clear that most participants agree that it would be an asset to the community.

So many incredible climate-related projects have already emerged from PB programs around the country. For instance:

• Since Boston’s Youth Lead the Change was established in 2013, young people have developed and overseen the implementation of countless projects advancing climate resilience, such as urban forests and farms, fans in schools without air conditioning, solar panels on city-owned buildings, more robust recycling programs, reinvestment in parks, water refill stations, solar-powered charging benches, community art murals, and more.
• In Fresno, California, activists helped secure $37 million of state climate funding to create one of the largest community-based PB projects in the country. The city was allocated about $70 million through the state’s Transformative Climate Communities program, which was designed to invest in the state’s communities most impacted by pollution, but when residents of Southwest Fresno learned that the city intended to pour that entire amount into the city’s downtown, they traveled to Sacramento to advocate for greater autonomy over the funding- and they were successful! Since then, about 125 Fresno residents have developed and approved funding for dozens of projects that will help to mitigate environmental injustice, advance climate resilience, and improve quality of life, including community gardens, more trees, a new community college campus, better sidewalks, building weatherization, a food hub, and more.
• Detroit SOUP, which is an example of a non-governmental project utilizing PB practices in an effective and inspiring way, has directed microgrants to hundreds of incredible Detroit-based projects, among them, urban farms and community gardens, a mobile tool share, a bus stop bench project, a bicycle workspace, energy democracy and housing justice initiatives, and a whole lot of art.

When elected representatives, public officials, and community members work alongside one another to develop inclusive PB processes, flesh out project proposals, and hold elections for proposed projects, they deepen their relationships between one another. Elected representatives become more accountable to the people that they serve, and they also become more informed about what their constituents need and desire. Meanwhile, community members forge connections with neighbors and learn more about what’s happening in their neighborhood. Participants also develop a better understanding of the costs and challenges associated with public projects, and they gain empathy for what public officials and elected representatives have to navigate.