L.A. REPAIR Participatory Budgeting

Los Angeles experiences some of the widest wealth inequality in the United States. Years of systemic racism and underinvestment have left many L.A. neighborhoods with higher rates of poverty, unemployment and environmental hazards. Building a stronger future for L.A. requires us to reckon with this inequity, and give every neighborhood a seat at the table.

The Los Angeles Reforms for Equity and Public Acknowledgment of Institutional Racism (L.A. REPAIR) is L.A.'s first participatory budget pilot program. L.A. REPAIR will distribute roughly $8.5 million directly to nine L.A. City neighborhoods, called REPAIR Zones.

How those dollars are spent will be decided entirely by the community through a democratic process known as participatory budgeting. Community members of each REPAIR Zone will submit ideas that everyone in the neighborhood can vote on, empowering individuals to decide how public dollars are spent in their community.

L.A. REPAIR Participatory Budgeting is run by the City of Los Angeles, Civil + Human Rights and Equity Department (L.A. Civil Rights). Click here to learn about L.A. Civil Rights and its work.