Just off the bustling Rue Montorgueil, one of the most commercial streets in Paris, the Centre Cerise, or Cherry Sociocultural Center, is a haven of local community. At the cafe in the back, where the ceiling is covered in a sea of mirrors, a young barista whistles behind the counter and a trio of elderly women chat over an afternoon coffee. These humble surroundings, simple as they appear, are a pillar of local democracy. And they recently received a much-needed, city-funded renovation in the form of participatory budgeting.

“Paris has become very expensive. Many people can’t afford to eat in the restaurants around here,” says Anne-Valérie Desprez, a manager at the Cherry. “That’s why we need places like this. To provide everyone with somewhere to come together.”

For the past decade, every year, Parisians like Desprez have been able to see their proposals come to life on the streets of the French capital. Under the city’s Participatory Budget, any resident above the age of seven, regardless of their nationality, can propose a project to be paid for by municipal funds. The model, increasingly popular across the globe, is helping authorities spend resources efficiently and boost democratic participation in an era when trust in government is low and political apathy is on the rise.

In Paris, more than 21,000 ideas have been submitted by citizens since the scheme launched in 2014, resulting in 1,345 funded projects and an expenditure of €768 million (almost $900 million), including €263 million set aside for low-income districts. Each proposal must pass a feasibility study by city hall before being voted on by residents online or at hundreds of ballot boxes installed across the city in the fall.

“It is a very good device and it’s important,” says Yves Sintomer, a French researcher and co-author of the book Participatory Budgeting in Europe, an analysis of initiatives in 10 countries. “Paris has invested a lot, and with that you can transform a lot of things.”

Read the full article about participatory budgeting in Paris by Peter Yeung at Reasons to Be Cheerful.