Bilbao: Auzokide Plan / Plan Auzokide

The Auzokide Plan is a municipal participation and active listening tool that allows the residents of Bilbao to propose, discuss, and prioritize urban improvements in their neighborhoods. With a duration of four years per municipal term, it addresses the challenge of integrating the real needs of neighborhoods into municipal planning through a program that seeks political, technical, and community consensus in the definition, prioritization, and subsequent implementation of urban improvements. Residents’ proposals regarding public works and services are channeled through the city’s eight District Councils—structured and stable spaces for political, community, and social representation—thus enabling citizen involvement in decision-making processes.

The Auzokide Plan integrates multi-year projects (which require technical planning) and annual actions (smaller-scale interventions with lower budgets) within the same framework: a four-year mandate, a territorial scope (the district), a participatory structure (the Council), and an economic dimension (with an annual committed budget allocation). Through political, social, and neighborhood representation, the process gives voice to the diversity and specific needs of each neighborhood. Each participant represents a variety of groups, such as women, residents, retirees, parents from school communities, and others. The design allows any individual or organization to submit proposals and contribute to projects, while the technical process ensures that all requests are analyzed and assessed according to common criteria.

The procedure combines several phases of participation: submission of proposals, preparation of reports, committee debates, technical validation, prioritization, and approval in plenary sessions. It guarantees that any citizen proposal can be analyzed, classified, and evaluated economically and technically by the Public Works Department. The plan also includes mechanisms for evaluation, communication, and transparency, ensuring a continuous and accessible flow of information through multiple channels, as well as confidentiality criteria for working documents.

Overall, this initiative has contributed to institutionalizing democracy, participatory culture, and shared civic responsibility, giving the District Councils a stable and recognized role in municipal decision-making.

More information:
https://www.bilbao.eus/cs/Satellite/bilbaoparticipativo/es/auzokide-plana
https://www.oidp.net/docs/repo/doc1885.pdf
https://www.oidp.net/docs/repo/doc1886.pdf