Woluwe-Saint-Lambert: citizen participation pioneer

Brussels' participation pioneer

Woluwe-Saint-Lambert has approximately 61,000 inhabitants. In 2008, it became the first Brussels municipality to adopt a citizen participation code. Olivier Maingain (DéFI) leads the municipality with Les Engagés.

Transparency: 5 out of 6 criteria

The budget and council minutes (dedicated page organised by year) are published online, the council has been livestreamed since 2019, the mandate registry is accessible, and the municipality runs a participatory budget of EUR 200,000/year with 60 to 80 annual meetings. No dedicated Open Data portal.

Citizen participation: a model

Woluwe-Saint-Lambert devotes EUR 200,000 per year to its participatory budget, the highest among Brussels municipalities. The 2008 participation code structures 60 to 80 citizen meetings per year.

Recent developments

A rare achievement: Woluwe-Saint-Lambert is the only Brussels municipality to lower its property tax (−15 points), thanks to a budget surplus. The Poseidon pool is closed for 6 months of renovation works.