Americans don’t often have a direct say in how their tax dollars get spent. Those decisions are generally left to elected officials.

So, some places have engaged in something called “participatory budgeting,” a process where residents propose things like speed bumps, or musical instruments for a library, and then vote for which projects win public funding.

And while it sounds like democracy in action, the approach hasn’t always stuck. 

At a neighborhood park in Nashville, the rubber ground is bouncy — and makes for a soft landing when jumping off the towering play structure. Both are new — and, according to 10-year-old Jalaysia Williams, they’re an upgrade. 

“They got different materials that the park never have,” Williams said. 

The park renovations were one of two dozen projects funded through Nashville’s participatory budgeting process in 2023. Jalaysia’s mom, Janai said she — and her kids — appreciate the improvements.

“They love this park,” Williams said. “We come here very often.”

But Williams didn’t vote for them. Like most people in Nashville, she didn’t even know participatory budgeting was a thing.  

The project started in select neighborhoods. And, at first city leaders were excited. So, Nashville scaled it up, dedicating $10 million to projects citywide.

But then, engagement was really low. 

“It's just kind of like, ‘OK, is this really participatory in the way that we're hoping it would be?’” said Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell.

In 2023, only 13,000 people voted — less than 2% of the city’s population. That’s even though the process was more open than regular elections: undocumented residents, teenagers, and disenfranchised voters can cast ballots.

So, O’Connell phased out the process. “It seemed like we were asking people to do more work for things that they should be getting ordinarily anyway.”

There’s also a concern that well-resourced neighborhoods might be able to scrounge up more votes for, say, pickleball courts, while communities in need can’t get that same level of engagement.

But supporters of participatory budgeting say it’s really about changing the way government works.

“It’s a boot camp for democracy and helping folks to work together,” said Dr. Celina Su, an urban studies professor at the City University of New York.

Su said the very fact that Nashville’s process is gone is evidence that it wasn’t done right.  

“It wasn't big enough for people to really notice,” Su said. 

She said more dollars and better outreach are ways to make sure it does get noticed. 

Participatory budgeting is active in cities like New York and Chicago. But, in Nashville, it’s gone. And many residents aren’t even aware that the process ever existed.