City of Oulu’s Participatory Budgeting broke the voting record again – nine ideas were chosen for implementation

There was a total of 61 voting proposals for different parts of the city, and 9 were chosen for implementation.  

All proposals received a lot of votes. However, the citizens’ favorite proposal was clear. 

“Approximately 40 % of the voters voted for the proposal ‘Sport hobbies for low-income families’. It received 1000 more votes than the runner-up proposal”, the city of Oulu’s Interaction Designer Anne Kippola-Rinne explains.  

Citizens of Oulu want to improve Nallikari 

Many winning proposals are implemented in multiple neighborhoods. However, proposals located in Nallikari and Hietasaari were clearly favored by the citizens of Oulu. Almost 70 % of the Participatory Budgeting’s total budget will be spent on implementing proposals in the area. 

“It is great to see that citizens of Oulu want to develop Nallikari with Participatory Budgeting”, the city of Oulu’s Project Director Karri Oikarinen states. 

Nallikari is one of the city’s urban development spearhead projects, it is a part of the Urban and Coastal Oulu project. 

“The city’s goal is to attract motivated external investors and developers to the area and this gives hope that that will really happen. The Participatory Budgeting’s result expresses that Nallikari is an important area for citizens of Oulu and that it has many users”, he continues.  

The number of voters grew for the fifth year in a row 

Participatory Budgeting broke the voting record again as 6 407 citizens of Oulu voted this year. That is almost a thousand-voter increase compared to last year (5 453 voters in 2024). 

This year, voters could choose up to eight proposals to vote for. All citizens of Oulu, starting from middle school students, had the right to vote. 

The voting results of all proposals can be seen on the Osallistu Oulu website. 
 

The winning proposals and vote distribution 

1. Sport hobbies for low-income families (2 552 votes)
   The money will be used to organize three-session, free-of-charge sport trials in Rajakylä, Kaukovainio, Tuira and Kaakkuri. 

2. Spring flowers in city parks (1 532 votes) 
   The money will be used to plant Siberian squills in the greenspaces of city parks.  

3. Music performances in nursing homes (1 507 votes) 
   The money will be used to organize touring music performances in nursing homes in different parts of Oulu.  

4. Renovating the Kuivasjärvi and Pyykösjärvi Beaches (1 422 votes) 
   The money will be used to renovate the Kuivasjärvi and Pyykösjärvi Beaches.  

5. New outdoor fitness gym in Nallikari (1 405 votes) 
   The money will be used to replace the old outdoor fitness equipment in Nallikari with an entirely new outdoor fitness gym. 

6. The Dudesons visits at schools (1 400 votes) 
   The money will be used to implement The Dudesons visits and anti-bullying lectures at the following schools: Ritaharju-Rajakylä School, Ylikiiminki School, Heinätori School, Kajaanintulli School, Leinonpuisto School, Maikkula School and Tierna School. 

7. Forest path in Hietasaari (1 343 votes) 
   The money will be used to renew the pre-existing paths in Hietasaari to be easily accessible. Lay-bys and relaxation areas will be built along the path. The length of the path will be approximately two kilometers and there will be about ten stops along the path. The implementation will include a footpath and a platform on the beach. 

8. Children’s events and concerts in libraries (1 328 votes) 
   The money will be used to organize events and concerts for children and families in different libraries. The events and concerts will be organized especially in Oulu’s border areas. 

9. Gig evening for youth during the fall break (18 000 € remains for this implementation) (1 260 votes) 
   The money will be used to organize a free-of-charge and substance-free gig evening during the fall break on October 22, 2025. During the evening, young people’s favorite artists will perform, some of whom would be from Oulu. The headliner will be revealed later. 18 000 € remains of the budget for this implementation. 

    

Preparations for implementing the winning proposals start immediately. You may follow the implementation progress of the proposals on the Osallistu Oulu website. 

We are extremely thankful for everyone participating in ideation and voting! Oulu’s Participatory Budgeting will return again next year!