tion zone each month and billed a credit or debit card
accordingly.
Within a short time, traffic levels in Central London
fell by 20% and traffic congestion by 30%. The city re-
corded a 16% reduction in carbon emissions and an esti-
mated 40-50 million litres reduction in fuel consump-
tion. Many citizens switched from private to public
transport, and the city saw an 83% rise in bicycle trips.
In 2007, the city extended congestion pricing to other
areas of London, and now raises £122 mil-
lion in fees annually. The money is rein-
vested in improving public transport, road
safety, and energy efficiency.
Participatory Budgeting: Porto Alegre
A third of Porto Alegre, Brazil’s citizens
lived in isolated slums with inadequate fa-
cilities, and citizens had very little involve-
ment in identifying solutions that would
make their lives better.
Starting in 1989, community members
in Porto Alegre were encouraged to iden-
tify their spending priorities, select
budget delegates who had the support of
various experts, develop spending pro-
posals, vote on proposals and then for-
ward them to local government authori-
ties for implementation.
Participatory budgeting reprioritized
government spending, helping to quadru-
ple the number of schools across the city,
tackle poverty, and reduce corruption.
Overall, Porto Alegre became more equita-
ble, more transparent, and more account-
able. This approach also empowered citi-
zens and gave them an opportunity to address their
concerns. The World Bank credited the initiative for in-
creasing the number of homes linked to sewage and wa-
ter systems to nearly 100%.
Crowd Funding
In the wake of the financial crisis, budgets at all levels of
government have tightened. Words like “sequester” are
now a part of our common, everyday lexicon. Because of
this, some municipalities have decided to get creative
when looking to support and fund local projects. This is
at the core of the value proposition put forth by Citizin-
vestor, a “crowdfunding and civic engagement platform
for local government projects.” The platform aims to
match the crowdfunding model with towns and cities
(and their citizens) looking to improve by funding pro-
jects that go toward benefitting the greater good. From
picking up litter in Philadelphia to constructing a base-
ball museum in Tampa and building an observation deck
at Reservoir Hill in Pagosa Springs, Colorado, there are
projects all over the nation being funded on this niche
crowdfunding platform.
There has been a bit of controversy surrounding this
topic. Some argue that as citizens, we already pay taxesand therefore supplemental funding is unnecessary.Conclusion
Indian cites are very different from their global counter-
parts. So while India can learn a lesson or two from these
models, it require city specific customization.
“The government often cites places like Barcelona, San
Francisco and Singapore as the models for its ambitious
urban overhaul but it may have to lower its sight, as most
Indian cities trail their global peers economically as well as
socially. Policy makers should look at cities like as Medel-
lin in Colombia or Casablanca in Morocco, whose econo-
mies are smaller and compare better with the Indian cit-
ies,” American think tank Brookings Institution has
said.<