Propose ideas, develop, vote – join us in developing Lahti!
Ideas from the public welcomed from 26 January to 5 March
Do you want to have a say in the future of Lahti and your neighbourhood? Participatory budgeting (PB) is your chance to submit ideas and influence how the City’s participatory budget is spent. The ideation phase welcomes all residents of Lahti to submit their ideas for the development of their own neighbourhood or the city as a whole.
The total budget for implementing ideas submitted by the public is EUR 200,000, and the money will be split into five equal portions between the southern, northern, eastern and central areas of the city as well as city-wide projects.
You can see the geographical division for participatory budgeting here.
Your idea must fall under one of the following themes:
- Community
- Environment
- Well-being
- Sustainability
The sustainability theme also covers the renovation of existing infrastructure.
This round of participatory budgeting introduces a new, experimental element to the ideation phase: a PB hotline manned by a virtual receptionist, which members of the public can call to submit their ideas. The number for the PB hotline is +358 (0)45 490 6350 (in Finnish).
How are ideas evaluated?
Experts from the City organisation will review all ideas submitted by members of the public to evaluate their feasibility. To be considered, ideas must be
- legal,
- within the City organisation’s purview and implementable in 2024,
- related to one of four themes: Well-being, Community, Environment or Sustainability,
- within budget (up to EUR 40,000 per area),
- maintainable by the City organisation without, for example, incurring unsustainable running costs or having to hire permanent staff, and
- non-commercial, non-discriminatory and supportive of the principle of equality.
People decide, the City implements.