Citizen's budget Hasselt

For and by people of Hasselt

In the fall of 2020, the city of Hasselt launched for the first time a call for climate projects, which could be financed through the citizens' budget. Guided by Ecolife and supported by the Province of Limburg, the initiative grew into a pressure cooker for creative climate actions, for and by Hasselt residents. New call rounds followed in 2021 and 2023, brimming with good citizen ideas.

When you have a lot of committed residents who have good ideas to address climate challenges in the neighborhood, you have to take full advantage of them. In 2020, 2021 and 2023, Hasselt asked its residents to share their proposals. City residents and an expert panel chose the best ones. The citizen budget provided the financial oxygen to make the selected ideas a reality.

With a citizen budget, you not only involve residents in your city, you also put them behind the wheel. It is a form of participation that goes beyond traditional forms of participation, such as surveys or home visits. Citizens submit their own proposals and help decide which projects receive funding.

In addition to capturing innovative ideas, a citizen's budget also increases support for climate action. The ideas come directly from the city, which means that groups that the city itself finds harder to reach also get a platform. Besides the ecological aspect, the social aspect is also important. One citizen is less concerned about climate action, but attaches importance to a tool library or green meeting space, for example. The citizen budget can thus be an important lever to get all noses in the same direction. In this way you stand strong together for the climate.