Search

There is rising scholarly and political interest in participatory budgets and their potential to advance urban sustainability. This article aims to contribute to this field of study through the specific lens of the city of Lisbon’s experience as an internationally acknowledged leader in participatory budgeting. To this end, the article critically examines the lessons and potential contribution of the Lisbon Participatory Budget through a multimethod approach. Emerging trends and variations of citizen proposals, projects, votes, and public funding are analysed in tandem with emerging key topics that show links and trade-offs between locally embedded participation and the international discourse on urban sustainability. Our analysis reveals three interconnected findings: first, the achievements of the Lisbon Participatory Budget show the potential to counteract the dominant engineered approach to urban sustainability; second, trends and variations of the achievements depend on both citizens’ voice and the significant influence of the city council through policymaking; and, third, the shift towards a thematic Green Participatory Budget in 2020 was not driven by consolidated social and political awareness on the achievements, suggesting that more could be achieved through the 2021 urban sustainability oriented Participatory Budget. We conclude recommending that this kind of analysis should be systematically carried out and disseminated within city council departments, promoting much needed internal awareness of PBs’ potential as drivers of urban sustainability. We also identify further research needed into the sustainability potential of green PBs.

In the summer of 2018 the European Commission awarded Lisbon as European Green Capital 2020 – in part due to investments made by Lisbon municipality in Green Infrastructure (GI) and new green spaces. As the city is becoming greener, this study aims to analyze Lisbon’s urban greening strategies from an environmental justice perspective. It does so based on data collected through desk-research of relevant planning documents and other studies; semi-structured interviews held with individuals working in different positions at Lisbon municipality; and field observations made in Lisbon’s green spaces. The data was analyzed while attending to the different dimensions of environmental justice (EJ), namely procedural and substantive aspects. This research finds that Lisbon’s urban greening strategies reflect environmental justice concerns by seeking to expand GI across the city and increase green space availability. However the strategies are based on a quantitative analysis of the spatial distribution of green spaces, failing to address other barriers that may prevent people from accessing and using green space. This is problematic as EJ is considered to go beyond just distribution. Furthermore forms of public participation and consultation are rather limited and are an exception to the rule; the decision-making process is based on the expert knowledge of civil servants – mainly landscape architects. As participation is seen as a central element of EJ, this research identifies a risk for Lisbon’s urban greening strategies to bypass the different needs and vulnerabilities of different social groups. Therefore, this study recommends policy-makers to include qualitative data regarding the use of Lisbon’s green spaces when analyzing access to green space, and to actively involve and recognize local residents when designing and implementing Lisbon’s GI. Sommaren 2018 utsågs Lissabon av Europeiska kommissionen till Europas miljöhuvudstad 2020 – delvis på grund av investeringar som Lissabons kommun gjort i grön infrastruktur och nya grönområden. Eftersom staden håller på att bli grönare har denna studie som syfte att analysera Lissabons strategier för urban grönska från ett miljörättviseperspektiv. Denna analys baseras på data insamlad genom skrivbordsforskning i relevanta planeringsdokument och andra studier, semi-strukturerade intervjuer med anställda på Lissabons kommun, samt fältobservationer i Lissabons grönområden. Datan analyserades med hänsyn till de olika dimensionerna av miljörättvisa, nämligen procedurella och substantiva aspekter. Studiens resultat visar att Lissabons strategier för urban grönska tar hänsyn till miljörättviseperspektiv genom målet att utveckla grön infrstruktur runt om i staden och öka tillgången till grönområden. Däremot är strategierna baserade på en kvantitativ analys av den geografiska fördelningen av grönytor, och bortser därför från andra begränsningar som kan förhindra vissa gruppers tillgång till och användning av grönområden. Detta är problematiskt då miljörättvisa anses gå bortom endast geografisk fördelning. Dessutom finns det endast begränsat utrymme för allmännhetens deltagande och samråd; beslutsprocessen är snarare baserad på expertkunskaper från kommunens tjänstepersoner – främst landskapsarkitekter. Eftersom deltagande anses vara en central del i miljörättvisan finns här en risk att Lissabons strategier för urban grönska förbiser de mångfaldiga behov och svagheter av olika samhällsgrupper. Därför rekommenderar studien att beslutsfattare tar hänsyn till kvalitativ data om hur Lissabons grönområden används när de analyserar tillgång till grönområden, samt att de aktivt involverar invånare under design- och implementeringsprocessen av Lissabons gröna infrastruktur. No verão de 2018, Lisboa foi eleita Capital Verde Europeia 2020 pela Comissão Europeia – em parte, devido aos investimentos feitos pela Câmara Municipal de Lisboa (CML) na Infraestrutura Verde da cidade e na criação de novos espaços verdes. Enquanto a cidade vai ficando mais verde, esta investigação visa analisar as estratégias de estrutura verde da CML a partir de uma perspetiva de justiça ambiental. A análise baseia-se em dados obtidos através do estudo de documentos estratégicos e de planeamento; de entrevistas semi-estruturadas com indivíduos em diferentes posições na CML; e, por último, de observações de campo feitas nos espaços verdes de Lisboa. A análise de dados atendeu às diferentes dimensões de justiça ambiental, nomeadamente aspetos processuais e substantivos. Baseado nessa análise, considera-se que as estratégias de estrutura verde da CML refletem questões de justiça ambiental no sentido de visar a expansão da Infraestrutura Verde pela cidade e o aumento da quantidade de espaços verdes. Contudo, as estratégias baseiam-se numa análise quantitativa da distribuição espacial de espaços verdes, sem ter em consideração possíveis outras barreiras que possam impedir as pessoas de aceder e usufruir de tais espaços. Isto é considerado problemático, uma vez que justiça ambiental requer ir além da distribuição justa. Ademais, as formas de participação ou consulta públicas são limitadas e uma exceção; o processo de tomada de decisão é fundamentado no conhecimento especializado de funcionários públicos, nomeadamente arquitetos paisagistas. Como a participação é vista como um elemento central de justiça ambiental, esta investigação identifica o risco de as estratégias de estrutura verde passarem ao lado das necessidades e vulnerabilidades específicas de diferentes grupos sociais. Assim, recomenda-se que as estratégias incluam uma análise qualitativa sobre a utilização de e acesso a espaços verdes; e que se vise o envolvimento e reconhecimento ativos dos residentes no processo de definição e implementação de novos espaços verdes.