What would happen if citizens got together to decide collectively how budgets are spent? Participatory budgeting began in Brazil, where it is used in more than 100 cities, and has just recently spread to the United States. Council Member Brad Lander helped to spearhead the efforts of eight New York City council members to put their capital budgets, totaling around $10 million, up to this democratic process. He will speak about the vision, benefits, and challenges of this exciting new experiment in urban democracy.
