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Box 5. Participatory budgeting and basic service provision A study for GOLD II focused on participatory budgeting in 20 urban centres to see how it influenced basic service provision. The urban centres ranged from small centres to large cities, in Europe, one North America, Asia and (mostly) Latin America. Within these urban centres, 20,000 projects were funded through 74 participatory budgets (PB) processes with a total value of around USD 20 billion. The proportion of the municipal budget allocated through participatory budgeting was generally between USD 8 and 30 per inhabitant – although it reached over USD 200 in Ilo (Peru) and USD 180 in Port Alegre. Over a third of all projects were related to one or more basic services. The priorities in basic service projects supported by PB in 18 cities were as follows: 1: Roads, paths, opening up alleys and paving of streets (in 17 cities and often the first or second priority). 2: Water and sanitation (in 13 cities and ranked first or second in six cities) 3: Energy and public lighting (in 13 cities, ranked first or second in five cities) 4: Water drainage (11 cities) 5: Transport and increased mobility (10 cities) 6: Potable water supply (9 out of the 18 cities. Many of the cities already had close to 100% water coverage, but this was the first or second priority in 3 cities) Solid waste collection and management related projects were carried out in only 5 of the 18 cities but were the first or second priority in 3 cities. Source Cabannes (2013).
and services, risks are particularly high.102 This is especially true for informal settlements that have developed in flood plains or on steep slopes because no other (safer) sites were available.103 In some countries and regions, freshwater resources are being depleted and water stress is likely to be further exacerbated by climate change. Many major cities will face serious constraints in freshwater availability. All coastal cities and towns will be affected by sea-level rise104 and resulting risks from storm surges in the short term; hundreds of millions of urban-dwellers live
in low-elevation coastal zones that are, or will soon be, at risk. Most cities that already experience high temperatures will face more intense or long-lasting heat waves. All of these risks require local government responses, especially in reducing vulnerability for the poorest. Both disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation depend on local governments, as so many necessary risk-Â reduction measures fall within their responsibilities and jurisdictions. While it can be hard for local governments to pay attention to climate change in the face of so many
102
Bicknell et al (2009).
103
Douglas et al (2007).
McGranahan (2007). 104
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