Participatory budgeting to revitalize Chengdu’s rural areas

In 2009 Chengdu, the capital city of Sichuan province, was designated the first city to implement large-scale participatory budgeting process. Participatory budgeting is a direct democracy system that allows local inhabitants to decide on the allocation of a portion of the municipal budget. The villagers elected a committee in charge of consulting the Chengdu residents on the allocation of 50,000 dollars, choosing among the proposed projects and supervising their implementation, along with the local branch of the Chinese Communist Party.

This program aims to develop rural areas in a customized manner, better in sync with their needs, and to fight against inequalities between urban and rural areas, by revitalizing community solidarity and cooperation.