Participatory budgeting

You can participate by voting for your favourite among the best ideas.

Vote here!

Vote for the winner from the following ideas:

• More urban greenery and community food gardens: Creating pleasant shared cultivation areas in parks by planting fruit trees, berry bushes, and edible plants, and by distributing free native plant seedlings to residents to replace invasive species.
• Summer jobs for young people in planting and invasive species control: Offering young people who have not secured summer jobs the opportunity to do meaningful environmental work by removing invasive species and planting useful crops in the urban environment.
• Equipment lending stations and drinking water spots in parks: Introducing equipment lending stations and water spots in parks to make outdoor activities easier and encourage people to spend time together.
• A small observation tower at a Vaasa nature site: Providing residents with new outdoor experiences by building 1–2 small observation towers that overlook scenic river, sea, plain, or forest landscapes, thus offering memorable views in the heart of nature.
• A park concert for residents by the City Orchestra: Organizing a free park concert bringing residents together to enjoy a summer evening and live music.
• An outdoor basketball court made from recycled materials: Building an outdoor basketball court in Palosaari made from recycled plastic, offering a sustainable and inspiring place for exercise for students and residents.
• Afforestation of vacant land in honor of the Green Leaf year: Transforming unused land into a diverse new forest area that will grow over the years into a learning environment and a local natural oasis.
• Palosaari energy park: Installing solar-powered benches, a small wind-powered art installation, and outdoor fitness equipment that generates electricity from movement at the Salmikatu playground in Palosaari. With the energy produced by these features, residents can exercise, relax, and charge their mobile devices in the midst of nature.

• Collecting ideas from 14 Jan to 8 Feb 2026
• Voting for the winner from 11 to 29 March 2026
• Announcing the winner on 10 April 2026

• 2025 Rowing boats for borrowing, budget €15,000
• 2024: Waste bins and benches along the Waterfront Route, budget €15,000
• 2023: Winter swimming spot in the Inner Harbour, budget €15,000
• 2022: Toys for daycare centres, budget €5,000
• 2021: Happiness meadow in Vaskiluoto, budget €5,000
• 2020: Cherry blossom park in Onkilahti, budget €5,000

The submitted ideas will be reviewed by a working group, which includes representatives from each of the city’s sectors. The City Board will decide, based on the working group’s proposal, which ideas will be put to a vote.

The ideas will be assessed against the following criteria:

• The idea can be implemented within the allocated budget and in a way that allows for its potential future maintenance.
• The idea is in line with the values of the City of Vaasa.
• The idea promotes the well-being of Vaasa residents, strengthens the sense of community, boosts happiness, and brings joy to as many people as possible.
• The idea helps mitigate climate change and promotes environmental well-being by, for example:
  • Increasing biodiversity
  • Promoting the circular economy
  • Combatting noise or light pollution
  • Saving water or improving the condition of natural water bodies.

No idea is wasted; all of them are shared with the city’s departments for their information and added to the city’s ‘idea bank’, for future use in the development of services.