City of Cambridge Participatory Budgeting

During this last PB cycle, many students at the Community Learning Center (CLC) submitted ideas about how to use the $600,000 to improve the community.  Later in the fall, they learned about the 23 projects on the ballot, debating the merits of each and discussing their favorites with teachers and classmates. 

In early December 2015, dozens of CLC students cast their ballots in English, Amharic, Arabic, Chinese, Haitian Creole, Portuguese, and Spanish to decide which PB projects would ultimately win funding. Many also attended the PB Results Party on December 17th to hear which projects won and to celebrate with other community members.

Please read the essays below from five level 4 ESOL students to learn about their PB experiences and reflections.

• Participatory Budgeting, by Jackson Rojas

• Participatory Budgeting, by Jean Josue Valme

• Participatory Budgeting, by Lydia Millien

• Participatory Budgeting, by Wengalewit Affin

• Participatory Budgeting, by Yasmin Jumor