Work

The relationship between Participatory Budgeting and territorial justice: a theoretical and practical contribution

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: Participatory budgeting (PB) is considered one of the main democratic innovations in urban management developed in the last decades. Today, most experiences lack the core values that guided the creation of PB in the city of Porto Alegre (Brazil): inversion of priorities and social justice. Based on the assumption that PB is an institutional and political object of dispute for power within a territory, it is argued that it must be studied under the lens of territorial justice. A qualitative study was conducted (document analysis, fieldwork, and interviews) in two mid-sized cities with deliberative PBs, Araraquara (São Paulo, Brazil) and Vallejo (California, USA). The results point out a significant difference between the case studies, but also to PB’s relevant potential as a tool for territorial justice, demanding a context of massive institutional and political support.

Source: Cadernos Metrópole

DOI: 10.1590/2236-9996.2025-6368227-en

Author: Rodrigo Sartori BOGO

Institution: Universidade Estadual Paulista (Unesp)

Language: English

Topic: Urban Planning and Governance

Subfield: Urban Studies

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDGs: Peace, justice, and strong institutions, Sustainable cities and communities, Reduced inequalities

Open Access status: diamond

Funder: Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo