Vidzeme municipalities create new leisure spaces for children

Several spaces for children’s leisure activities have been created in the Vidzeme region through participatory budgeting, LSM reported. The scheme allows residents to submit projects and vote on which ones should be implemented, while municipalities are responsible for carrying them out.

Participatory budgeting has been a mandatory requirement for municipalities since last year. In Valmiera Municipality, however, project competitions have been held for four years.

Līga Bieziņa, the municipality’s spatial and strategic development planner, said residents were encouraged to propose ideas that would benefit a broad group of people. The projects are intended to address needs that are not part of routine maintenance and to develop or improve something in the community.

Several resident initiatives have already been implemented in Valmiera Municipality, including projects related to active recreation and sport. One example was the installation of lighting in Vērša village.

“There are many small places in the municipality where basic functions important to residents are not fully provided, while the municipality has many priorities. Through participatory budgeting, residents can see their priorities implemented much sooner than they would be through the normal planning process,” Bieziņa said.

One project, the creation of an active recreation area for children, was submitted by the Kocēni School Support Foundation. Foundation representative Liene Liepiņa said the project was proposed by parents who wanted a place where children could spend their free time.