The City of Pazin (HR) has been actively involving citizens in the process of adopting the city budget since 2014. This town of around 8 600 inhabitants experienced frustration and mistrust when the small municipal budget couldn't meet all expectations. Now citizens send proposals of communal actions which should be carried out the following year. After analysis by city officials, public hearings are held in each district. Citizens vote on how the allocated budget should be spent. In three years, 370 proposals were submitted, and 80 have been approved - without any amendment by the city council. The budget allocated this way has also increased. The method can be applied in varying scales and territories.

The process of participatory budgeting allows direct participation of citizens in the decision-making on city budget funds. Citizens submit their proposals of the most necessary communal actions, after which city officials present it on public hearings in local boards. Local citizens vote on the presented proposals. Communal action(s) with the most votes within a predetermined budget are included in the city budget proposal. In addition, city representatives present citizens the most important determinants of the city budget and the budget process by which citizens are well informed, familiar with the limits of the city budget and have more realistic expectations.

That also increases their satisfaction and confidence in the work of the city administration. Within the public debates in local boards, there is a time scheduled to open discussion, questions and dialogue between the representatives of the city of Pazin and its citizens. In this way, citizens get firsthand information and answers. The multiple benefits of including citizens: budget and budget process information, involvement in decision-making and active participation in the political process which leads to an improving relationship between the city and its citizens, promoting transparency and responsibility, strengthening the public trust in the institutions and their representatives, increasing the level of political culture, a fairer distribution of financial resources and the reduction of social inequality.

The project contributes to the economical and efficient spending of available financial resources, by investing in the real needs of the citizens. The implementation of communal actions raises the quality of life and work in local communities, which indirectly results in economic development, employment increase and reduction of poverty.

Regardless of their social and political status, all citizens can send in their proposals of communal actions, participate in public debates, vote for the most necessary communal action and express their opinions and suggestions. The implementation of chosen communal actions certainly requires interventions in the environment. The city of Pazin as a local government must comply with all legal requirements, and it has to follow the principles of the economic and environmental sustainability in the implementation of communal interventions, thereby reducing the risk of environmental degradation. The participatory approach is ensured by the inclusion of the National Civil Society Organization GONG, the local civil society organisation “Naša djeca Pazin”, with the support of the following associates: National Public Scientific Institute, the Institute of Public Finance and National Community of Cities – Cities association. Moderation and guidance of public hearings are left to the civil society organisation SMART Rijeka as an impartial participant in the project. Technical assistance is provided by the representatives of local boards.

Right from the beginning of this project, public hearings in local boards gathered as much as 548 citizens. The evidence of the cooperation of all mentioned organisations can be found on the website of the project, where a lot of information about the project, photos, minutes from public hearings and much more, is published.

Since the beginning of this project, citizens have submitted a total of 370 municipal actions. Public hearings in local boards gathered 548 citizens who voted and decided on a total amount of 1,100,000.00 HRK (147 000 €), choosing 80 small communal actions in approximate value given at the disposal. After the vote, the Mayor of Pazin sent a budget proposal for the following year, including small communal actions, to the City Council of Pazin, its representative body. In three years of implementation of this project, the City Council didn't amend the small communal actions that were carried out during 2015 and 2016. Actions voted in 2016 will be implemented in 2017. Parallel to the implementation of the project, a website was created to inform and educate citizens about the budget and the project. The site is regularly updated, in order to maintain the achieved degree of the budget transparency. The project was covered by numerous media, thus raising the interest of the public and other cities and institutions, and presented on many seminars in Croatia where it received an award for the good practice.

Like the city of Pazin, other European cities might face similar problems. The limited budgetary resources, the large number of requests for infrastructure interventions and the impossibility of implementation of necessary communal actions cause frustration and dissatisfaction amongst the citizens. In addition, most citizens believe that the budget is a purely political procedure which they can't influence. This project gives all citizens the opportunity to participate in establishing a budget, thus allowing an important educational component. Direct contact with citizens creates confidence in the work of the city administration. In a similar way, other cities can reach out to its citizens. Due to proposals in public hearings, our citizens are satisfied with this unique practice. Every citizen has the possibility of direct participation in establishing the city budget, therefore allowing the city administration to identify problems and acknowledging suggestions. This city budget project suits the needs of citizens. Within the project, public discussions are held where citizens can ask questions and get answers from city administration. Finally, there is a vote for proposed communal actions.

In 2016, the Grand Paris Metropolis (FR), in partnership with the government and the public body responsible for building the new automatic Metro, launched the “Let's reinvent the Grand Paris Metropolis” challenge for its municipalities and for the private sector (companies, designers, promoters, investors). 
The challenge included two phases. First, mayors proposed public land and sites in need of transformation. Following visits to these sites and consultations with locals, private sector companies submitted innovative projects for the sites’ economic, social and environmental transformation. 
In March 2017, 164 projects out of 420 were successful, focusing on 57 sites, 27 of which are around future Metro stations. These projects are made up of more than 326 innovative startups, associations and SMEs. In total, 6.4 billion euros will be injected by the companies acquiring the sites in the coming years.

The implemented solutions have brought together elected representatives and professionals. The sites were proposed by the relevant mayor or territorial president, who presented them to the President of the Grand Paris Metropolis. Where appropriate, the site developer was included in a letter of intent addressed to the Grand Paris president. An advisory elected representative–technician pair has been appointed and a fact sheet has been drawn up with:

• Information on the site location;
• Its surface area;
• Guidelines on the provisional programme and the developer;
• Whether they have already been selected;
• The type of innovation expected (intermodality, energy efficiency, urban services, digital technology, construction, culture, etc.);
• The town planning restrictions.

The devised solutions also aimed to cater to new city dweller habits, with shared services proposed in half of the successful projects (co-living, co-working, etc.).

The decision to launch a call for projects has revamped the city's production methods by creating public/private partnerships, as the projects are led by professionals who assume the risks in return for land development potential.

Given the scale of the experiment, the territorial impact can be measured, as it is led at metropolitan level. Finally, as all metropolitan territories were free to participate in the call for projects, the small towns with limited resources were able to optimise land in the same way as the larger towns.

The Let's reinvent the Grand Paris Metropolis call for projects illustrates both the process and the purposes – reinventing the city differently – of the integrated sustainable urban development drive. And while the organisers have given the team substantial freedom in terms of the programming, the economic and social model for their project and the urban or architectural styles, they have nonetheless set out a number of URBACT principles, including:

• Involving the projects in the search for an innovative, sustainable, united and intelligent metropolis with a view to sustainable urban development;
• Devising projects within an integrated strategy in order to:
  • boost economic vitality and job opportunities in the metropolis;
  • respond to residents’ housing and service needs;
  • set an example in terms of energy and the environment;
  • contribute to the artistic, cultural and social reach of the metropolis;
  • suggest new concepts, new locations, new uses and new services with a focus on functional diversity and reversibility;
  • suggest models to ensure efficiency in the projects and the residents' association.

To ensure the integrated approach of the projects, they must be led by groups offering a range of skills, with designers, promoters, developers, investors, companies and even citizen communities or associations, in a bottom-up approach.

As France’s largest metropolis, with a population of seven million inhabitants and an entrepreneurial pull, the Grand Paris Metropolis wanted this call for projects to be an example of co-constructing the metropolitan project. To ensure extensive professional participation in the call for projects, the organisational committee – co-chaired by the Grand Paris Metropolis President and the Regional Prefect for Ile-de-France, responsible for the political management of the process – organised the call-up as early as possible in the process. In October 2016, an event was organised for all potential company candidates in order to present the 59 sites chosen by the organisational committee and invite them to respond to the consultation.

Site visits were organised in October and November 2016 alongside national and international communications campaigns. The consulting website went online during the property show in December 2016, coinciding with the start of the official application submission process. A large-scale citizen debate took place in conjunction with the call for projects in order to bring residents together and make this good practice a founding act for the metropolis and a badge of its identity. The winners were chosen by a panel for each site chaired by the President, who had the option to delegate this responsibility to the mayor of the town or territory in question in order to ensure control of the site’s future.

In terms of impact on the Metropolis (the Grand Paris Metropolis was created in January 2016, see the video), the “Let's reinvent the Metropolis” call for projects has raised its profile and substantially increased its attractiveness among investors, thus enhancing the diversity and quality of projects.

In terms of results, 164 company groups were selected from 420 candidates to acquire the 57 sites involved in the call for projects. The innovation goal was well reached as the groups of property and development professionals (architects, promoters and investors) place huge emphasis on urban innovation companies and a strong local presence, with more than 326 innovative start-ups, associations and SMEs.

If we consider the method, the 420 applications received proposed exceptional innovative ideas with a view to transforming the Metropolis into a real “sustainable and smart city laboratory”. The “Let's reinvent the Grand Paris Metropolis” consultation has thus established itself as the urban innovation pioneer and Europe's largest smart city consultation process. In terms of governance, the call for projects method, bringing mayors and territorial presidents into contact with teams of professionals to work on the projects, has helped create synergies between towns and territories.

This good practice may be of interest to other cities as they are all faced with the two-pronged challenge of finding solutions for land development and attracting investors. The success of phase one of “Let's reinvent the Grand Paris Metropolis” is fully in line with the very substance of this consultation: innovation, in all its guises. For the most part, the 420 applications that were received captured this quality, transforming this consultation into a call for projects targeting environmental excellence. Of the key topics, the issue of mobility to simplify metropolitan connections is also relevant to other European cities, with connected mobility, soft mobility and smart parking. A logistics review is another area for consideration, proposed at metropolitan level. The methods of dialogue with residents are also central to this good practice, which aims to integrate them from the very early project planning stages. Indeed, the relevance of the projects is reliant on continual input from the user. An experience exchange with other European counties would only boost the process.

Furthermore, involving local elected representatives in the choice of sites and teams strengthens governance at various metropolitan and local levels. The Metropolis does not impose its projects on the communities. Instead, it instigates the process and promotes territories and know-how. The call for projects attracted young agencies, big names in architecture and start-ups.

Throughout history, trade has played a significant role in the birth and development of cities. The city of Lisbon (PT) developed the programme Loja com História, “Shops with a History”, to recognise trade as a distinctive element of the city. The Shops with a History label is awarded to places such as shops, restaurants and cafes that have helped foster the city's identity and play a role in preserving its historical and cultural heritage. The municipality's goal is also to promote local shops, mainly in the historic town centre, as part of Lisbon's rehabilitation strategy for revitalising the city's economic and social fabric. Thanks to a multi-disciplinary team following predefined selection criteria, a first selection of 63 shops, including restaurants and patisseries, were distinguished in July 2016. A further 19 were highlighted in March 2017. A municipal fund has also been created to support the selected stores.

The candidate stores are visited and inspected by a multi-disciplinary working group set up for that purpose. This group consists of a mixed team of the municipality and the Faculty of Fine Arts that recommends the shop (or restaurant) which meets most of the criteria to be awarded with the distinction. The distinction is awarded on the basis of the cumulative assessment of various factors such as commercial activity, as well as the existence and preservation of architectural heritage or cultural and historical materials. Afterwards, the working group proposes the distinction, which will be validated by an advisory board and finally confirmed by the mayor or the deputy mayor concerned. The distinguished stores will be listed in a database with the documentary and photographic record that testifies to its current repository as well as the authenticity of its history. Each distinguished store is awarded a plaque with the insignia (Loja com História) to be placed on the façade of its building.

With the distinction awarded by the municipality, the stores benefit from greater public visibility, being a stimulus for updating their processes and methods to reach the market. This justifies the creation of a municipal fund as an integral part of the same program. This fund is intended to contribute to the costs carried out by stores in three areas: maintenance or restoration of façades or architectural and decorative elements, business dynamism or cultural initiatives.

The Shops with a History programme aims to support and promote the traditional local trade as a symbol of Lisbon, as well as to safeguard the remaining retail stores with unique and differentiating characteristics of commercial activity, and whose history is intertwined with that of the city. The concern with the retail shops (and restaurants) is recognised by the municipality with the reduction or exemption of municipal urban taxes. The City Council is committed to protecting historic shops by combating property speculation and the unrestrained increase of retail rents.

Civic participation has been encouraged by the initial meetings. Starting in February 2015, the City Council began talks with shopkeepers and representative trade and restaurant associations to reverse the commercial crisis situation and maintain business and lifestyle in the city. From these meetings some basic ideas emerged, with the formal start to happen with the probation of the criteria in February 2016 and constitution of a working group to realise the project in May 2016.

Furthermore, both the distinction and the fund were subject to their own regulations and submitted to a public consultation, before being ratified by the Municipal Assembly, the deliberative body of the city. All the distinctions were submitted for approval by the Advisory Board. This board is constituted by individual retailers and representative associations of trade and catering, as well as personalities with strong links to the history or the commercial life of the city.

The act of distinguishing a store is prestigious for commerce, but also for the city and for the owner of the store, which is not usually the shopkeeper. In some cases, having the Shop with a History/Loja com História distinction could help a store avoid eviction, displacement or forced compensation.

At the national level, the programme has already had repercussions in the country’s second largest city, Porto. Porto has held meetings with Lisbon officials in order to launch a similar initiative, called Porto with Tradition/Porto com Tradição.

Furthermore, our project manager is invited to a regional meeting to be held in Algarve, next April, organised by DG Cutura of Algarve/Ministry of Culture under the theme “Shops with a History/Encontro Lojas com História”. It will be an opportunity to present the Lisbon experience. This programme is easily transferable to other European cities, considering that the EU itself intends to improve trade and quality of life in cities, for example through funding under Horizon 2020.

For instance, a well-known blogger from Antwerp has already shown interest in publicising these ideas in her city. A meeting was scheduled with the Vice President's office.