Can participatory budgeting help make public services really work for the public? Incorporating a range of experiments in ten different countries, this book provides the first comprehensive analysis of participatory budgeting in Europe and the effect it has had on democracy, the modernization of local government, social justice, gender mainstreaming and sustainable development. By focussing on the first decade of European participatory budgeting and analysing the results and the challenges affecting the agenda today it provides a critical appraisal of the participatory model. Detailed comparisons of European cases expose similarities and differences between political cultures and offer a strong empirical basis to discuss the theories of deliberative and participatory democracy and reveal contradictory tendencies between political systems, public administrations and democratic practices.

This book provides rigorous and provocative understanding of the art and practice of participatory budgeting for those interested in strengthening inclusive and accountable governance.

Why is societal transition not simply a matter of change management or normal policy design? South Africa is living proof of the ability of a society to reinvent and reinstall itself. With the advent of new societal challenges, came the need for real societal innovation, especially in sectors where it was never deemed necessary or possible before. This book asks: What type of governance is helpful for developing new societal institutions and systems that can overcome systemic crises in emerging economies and fragile communities? What emerges is a compilation of chapters that introduce different parts of a solution which can be used in developing both a growing body of practices of 'governed' societal transitions and the associated transition of governance. The Governance of Transitions - The Transitions of Governance, in part, aims to provide building blocks which government and society could use to develop strategies for creating sustainable outcomes. It considers what kind of leadership, organisation or methods for accountability enable new types of governance and what the most important barriers are.

"The book covers a wide range of theoretical and practice topics, first presenting a model of critical community practice, the authors draw upon a variety of case studies from Britain and elsewhere to discuss this in the context of: work in and with community groups; management; policy and politics; and development of the critical practitioner." "The book will be relevant for all those people working to promote change and development in communities and provides an essential text for students on a range of professional and management programmes in community development, health, housing, planning and other disciplines with a community focus."--BOOK JACKET.

It is now more than a decade since the Right to Food Guidelines were negotiated, agreed and adopted internationally by states. This book provides a review of its objectives and the extent of success of its implementation. The focus is on the first key guideline – "Democracy, good governance, human rights and the rule of law" – with an emphasis on civil society participation in global food governance. The five BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) are presented as case studies: representing major emerging economies, they blur the line between the Global North and South, and exhibit different levels of human rights realisation. The book first provides an overview of the right to adequate food, accountability and democracy, and an introduction to the history of the development of the right to adequate food and the Right to Food Guidelines. It presents a historical synopsis of each of the BRICS states’ experiences with the right to adequate food and an analysis of their related periodic reporting to the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, as well as a specific assessment of their progress in regard to the first guideline. The discussion then focuses on the effectiveness of the Right to Food Guidelines as both a policy-making and monitoring tool, based on the analysis of the guidelines and the BRICS states.

What is a Garden City? How do you become one? This book draws on the history of the garden city movement and the experiences of Letchworth - the first Garden City - and combines these with contemporary international experiences and good practices to propose a manifesto for future garden cities. It defines a Garden City as a place that brings together the best elements of town and country through the implementation of 12 core principles. Written by Philip Ross, former Mayor of Letchworth Garden City and Prof. Yves Cabannes, Chair of the Development Planning at DPU at University College London. Foreword by Rod Hackney, former President of the Royal Institute of British Architects. Postscript by John Emmeus Davis, former Dean, National Community Land Trust Academy, USA