Multi-channel citizen participation in the City of Brussels
The City of Brussels is strengthening its future relationship with its citizens by getting them involved in the City's projects. By using a range of participatory tools and collaborative methods, it aims to develop a culture of participation both online and offline. The objective is to involve the city's residents in the decision-making process in order to build a more open, transparent and collaborative society. This will help to promote dialogue, improve the representativeness of a wide range of residents and to share information on the projects and initiatives of the residents of the City of Brussels.
FAIRE BXL SAMEN
The City has launched an online citizen participation platform called “faireBXLsamen”. It allows citizens to work together and consult each other in order to manage various participatory processes: make proposals (alone or with other citizens), take part in debates, prioritise projects, attend meetings or fill in surveys. By developing a platform for digital exchange and cooperation, the City aims to reach a wider audience, strengthen and enrich its day-to-day activities, and boost the confidence of its citizens. Citizen participation is highly flexible, it can happen at any time, via the Internet, a tablet or a smartphone. Citizens can simply give their opinion, vote, propose an idea or become more actively involved by collaborating or submitting their own projects.
Multi-channel participation
Citizen participation is a multi-channel platform to ensure that it is inclusive and accessible to as many citizens as possible. In addition to online solutions, citizen participation also includes neighbourhood councils, advisory boards, neighbourhood facilitators and other initiatives. The City even has a cargo bike called the “Babbeleir”. Through this unique participatory tool, we aim to forge close ties with local residents and attract their attention. It's easy for people get together to find out about projects, discuss their merits and give their opinions.
Picture © Unsplash: Hannah Busing
