Cambridge Civic Journal Forum

Submit Your Cambridge Improvement Project Ideas, June 1- July 31 for City’s Participatory Budgeting Process

June 1, 2021 – The City of Cambridge today launched the 8th cycle of Participatory Budgeting (PB8) and is seeking submissions from the community on how to spend $1 million on one-time capital projects to improve Cambridge. The Idea Collection phase will be open from June 1 – July 31, 2021.

Participatory Budgeting is a democratic process in which community members directly decide how to spend part of the capital budget. From August 2021 through November 2021, volunteer Budget Delegates will research project ideas and develop the final proposals for the December 2021 PB8 vote, in which all Cambridge residents age 12 and older will be able to participate.

Winning projects from past PB cycles include musical instruments for CRLS, universal swing sets in parks, laundry access in public schools, pedestrian-controlled crosswalk lights, bilingual books for kids, extending outdoor wifi, and many others.

Residents can submit ideas until July 31, 2021 by visiting https://pb.cambridgema.gov/; emailing pb.cambridgema.gov; calling the city’s Budget Office at 617-349-4270; dropping ideas in the Payment Drop Box in the rear of City Hall; or by mailing them to the City of Cambridge Budget Office, 795 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge MA 02139.

Residents interested in volunteering as Budget Delegates can apply by visiting https://pb.cambridgema.gov/volunteer2.

For more information about the process, please contact the Budget Office at 617-349-4270 or by email at pb@cambridgema.gov. Please also check the Participatory Budgeting website for updates and information at pb.cambridgema.gov.