From September 18 to October 8, all residents of Tallinn have the opportunity to submit their ideas for projects to be included in next year's participatory budget. Anyone interested can participate in an informative webinar today at 17:30 on Microsoft Teams.

Mayor Mihhail Kõlvart is pleased with the response to the idea collection process, noting active participation and valuable proposals. "In just the first week, 127 ideas have been submitted from every district of the city. The majority of ideas relate to sports and enriching leisure opportunities, but the community is also concerned about an eco-friendly urban environment, safety, as well as children and youth," said Kõlvart. "I'd like to thank all residents who have already shared their valuable ideas and encourage everyone else to make use of this opportunity."

In the first week, the most proposals were contributed from Kesklinn with 31 ideas, followed by Nõmme with 29. Põhja-Tallinn submitted 21 ideas, Lasnamäe 14, Haabersti 12, Mustamäe 10, Kristiine 7, and Pirita 3 ideas. Among the proposed project categories, sports and leisure activities stood out with 43 ideas, the majority of which centered around disc golf. Ideas also include proposals for bike shelters, sidewalk construction, car-free zones, and lowering of the kerbs at the edge of the roads. Overall most proposals revolve around outdoor activities.

Ideas can be submitted digitally on Tallinn's participatory budget website or in paper format at district government offices and Tallinn City Service Office (Vabaduse väljak 7) from September 18 to October 8, 2023. The proposal can be in Estonian, English, or Russian and must describe the objective of the proposal, justify its significance, specify the location of the proposal, and provide an estimated budget. It is important to remember that the proposed project should be publicly accessible and free to use.

An informational seminar (in Estonian) will be held today, on September 26th at 17:30 in the Microsoft Teams environment, where the conditions and timeline of the participatory budget,  will be presented. All interested parties can ask questions about both the idea collection and the participatory budget process. The link to the informational seminar is available at participatorybudget.tallinn.ee.

The feasibility of the submitted ideas will be assessed by an expert commission, and the selected ideas will be presented to the public. Residents will be able to cast a vote for their favorite projects from November 20 to December 3. In each city district, at least one project with the most votes that meets the criteria of the participatory budget will be implemented.

One million euros have been allocated in the 2024 budget for the realization of the ideas collected during this year. Of the total amount, 75 percent will be divided equally among city districts, and the remaining 25 percent will be allocated considering the number of residents in each district as of July 1 of the current year.

The idea collection is managed by Tallinn Urban Environment and Public Works Department.

Additional information: participatorybudget.tallinn.ee.


Community sauna by Lake Harku and a green-roofed bus stop in Kesklinn, established as part of the Participatory Budget in 2023: