In the past, decisions were made by politicians and professionals and even today that's how most decisions are made. We know that the people making decisions about our community do so with the best intentions, but they don't always result in the changes people need.
Communities are experts in the challenges they face and often have a really good idea of how to solve them. Participatory Budgeting respects this by giving local residents more control over how decisions are made and funds are used.