URBACT strongly supports the principle of the participatory city. But what does this mean? And how can cities build their capacity to implement this principle? Across Europe, city authorities are exploring new ways to connect with and engage citizens. This is particularly important when levels of trust in public authorities are under pressure. New digital platforms offer the potential to renew and refresh the connections with citizens, empowering them to shape the city’s future development. But they can also be used to further undermine the democratic process. regional policy Monday 18 March 2019, 09:00 (CET)SpainExternal event Practical information WhenMonday 18 March 2019, 09:00 (CET)Where Spain Description Starting in 2015, the City of Madrid has hosted an online platform called Decide Madrid. This is designed to promote transparency and to widen public participation in the city’s decision-making and investment processes. It is one of a new and growing generation of open source civic technologies emerging across Europe’s cities. Powered by open source software, Decide Madrid enables citizens to participate by: - Making spending proposals through a participatory budget process - Submitting proposals to the city authority - Providing feedback on council proceedings and voting on key issues - Debating key issues Madrid has learned a huge amount through this experience – and it continues to do so. Much of this learning is relevant and applicable to cities of all sizes throughout Europe. As part of its commitment to build cities’ capacity for civic participation, URBACT will co-host an event with Madrid on 11th April 2019. Who should attend? The event is open and targeted at city authority staff and stakeholders throughout Europe. Participants may be interested in establishing a crowd-sourcing platform in their own city. Or they may already have a similar mechanism in place but wish to learn from Madrid’s experience. The event is free, and URBACT cities currently involved in URBACT networks can use their network budgets to cover the costs of travel and accommodation, following the programme’s guidelines. Related links Crash course in Crowdsourcing: lessons from Decide Madrid Policies Regional policy Related events29Oct2025Conferences and summitsEuropean Startup Village Forum 202513-15Oct2025Conferences and summitsEuropean Week of Regions and Cities 202527-28Mar2025Conferences and summitsInterreg GO 2025See all
Starting in 2015, the City of Madrid has hosted an online platform called Decide Madrid. This is designed to promote transparency and to widen public participation in the city’s decision-making and investment processes. It is one of a new and growing generation of open source civic technologies emerging across Europe’s cities. Powered by open source software, Decide Madrid enables citizens to participate by: - Making spending proposals through a participatory budget process - Submitting proposals to the city authority - Providing feedback on council proceedings and voting on key issues - Debating key issues Madrid has learned a huge amount through this experience – and it continues to do so. Much of this learning is relevant and applicable to cities of all sizes throughout Europe. As part of its commitment to build cities’ capacity for civic participation, URBACT will co-host an event with Madrid on 11th April 2019. Who should attend? The event is open and targeted at city authority staff and stakeholders throughout Europe. Participants may be interested in establishing a crowd-sourcing platform in their own city. Or they may already have a similar mechanism in place but wish to learn from Madrid’s experience. The event is free, and URBACT cities currently involved in URBACT networks can use their network budgets to cover the costs of travel and accommodation, following the programme’s guidelines.
