A citizen budget in Lublin is dedicated to the allocation of new green spaces throughout the city, developed and chosen by citizens.
THE FIRST GREEN BUDGET
In 2016, the first edition of the Green Budget was announced in Lublin. Lublin is the first city in Poland to introduce a Green Budget which enables residents to co-decide urban greenery and places for recreation. The projects submitted by the residents most often concern their closest neighbourhood or their own district, which is why they know best how the area should look and what functions it should fulfil.
CITIZENS HAND IN IDEAS FOR PUBLIC SPACE
PLN 2 million has been allocated for the implementation of the first Green Budget. Residents' applications could include full construction documentation, a land development concept, or just a description of the idea with an indication of the location and form of the proposed green area. It was important that the project would be related to creating new, usable public spaces.
TWENTY-FOUR PROJECTS FOR IMPLEMENTATION
As a result of the first edition of the Green Budget, the residents, district councils, non-governmental organisations, and housing cooperatives submitted 107 applications for a total amount of PLN 16 million. The applications were then subjected to a two-stage evaluation: formal and thematic. The expert team analysing the applications not only took into account the ideas and expectations of the residents, but also their suggestions of how to think about and approach urban greenery, which inspired the citizens to continuously participate. The applications selected for implementation met the accepted selection criteria and their implementation was bound to significantly improve the quality of the city's greenery in various ways. Since then, 24 projects have been put forward for implementation (9 fully, 15 partially) in selected locations.
