Budżet obywatelski jako instrument kształtowania przestrzeni miasta – przykład Łodzi i Katowic

Participatory budgeting has become an important element of empowerment of the residents in the process of spatial planning in Polish cities. The citizens gained the right and a concrete tool to implement their ideas on how to change the city spaces. Many of the projects of participatory budgeting are the results of serious negligence in basic infrastructure in the cities. On the other hand, some of them are an expression of great ingenuity and innovative approach of the citizens to the modernization and arrangements in urban spaces. The civic projects improve quality of life and increase the utility value of public spaces. The main aim of the paper is to review and classify tasks changing public spaces under the formula of participatory budgeting. The research in a form of diagnosis enables to present the directions of participatory budgeting. It helps to monitor and evaluate the social impacts in the process of city space transformations. The subject of analysis are participatory budgets in Łódź and Katowice based on editions in 2015/2016 and 2016/2017.