Citizen participation

What does citizen participation mean?

The need for citizens to participate in important city decisions and projects has grown steadily over the years. The City of Innsbruck is therefore very keen to enable this participation and co-determination. After all, a vibrant democracy also includes creating concrete opportunities for participation outside of elections - in the sense of participatory democracy.

It is therefore the task of Service Unit Public participation and participatory urban planning to involve the population in important future issues and urban development projects and to create spaces for dialogue and exchange. After all, a vibrant city is largely characterised by people who can get involved and help shape it. This also includes listening to different opinions and views and weighing up interests together. Viable and accepted solutions can only be developed through cooperation.

Citizen participation has many different facets. Service Unit Public participation and participatory urban planning has summarised these facets in an integrative model:

Here you will find a presentation on the concept of Innsbruck's citizen participation programme:

What are the tasks of citizen participation?

Projektbezogene Beteiligungsprozesse

Ob bei einem städtischen Projekt die Bevölkerung durch einen Beteiligungsprozess mit eingebunden wird oder nicht, entscheidet der Stadtsenat. Wenn die Beteiligung der Bevölkerung politisch beauftragt und aus fachlicher Perspektive für sinnvoll erachtet wird, kann diese umgesetzt werden.

Das Service Unit Public participation and participatory urban planning  unterstützt die planenden Ämter wie beispielsweise das City Department Green spaces , das City Department Urban planning, mobility and integration  oder das City Department Civil engineering  bei der Umsetzung der Beteiligungsprozesse. Dabei wird besonders darauf geachtet, dass die Informationen, Ideen und Beiträge aus der Bevölkerung bestmöglich in die Planung mit einfließen. Beteiligungsprozesse sind je nach Thema und Projekt unterschiedlich aufgebaut und beinhalten beispielsweise Umfragen, Workshops, Stadtteilspaziergänge oder Planungswerkstätte.

Digital participation - Innsbruck participation platform

For some people, participation in local participation formats can be difficult or impossible for various reasons. By offering digital citizen participation, more people are given the opportunity to actively think and help shape Innsbruck.

With the platform mitgestalten.innsbruck.gv.at, the City of Innsbruck offers citizens a modern opportunity to get involved in various projects online or to submit their own ideas that make a positive contribution to city life.

Constructive ideas can be submitted as a proposal with a description on the platform at any time. If the proposal receives enough votes, it will be discussed further by the city council.

More information on current and past participation projects can also be found there. We offer your opinion a platform - take a look!

Citizens' councils

A citizens' council is a participation format in which citizens selected at random from the register of residents discuss important issues for the future together. The aim is to include different perspectives and develop a joint recommendation for politicians and the administration.

Two-stage selection process

Depending on the topic, between 600 and 1,200 citizens with their main residence in Innsbruck are initially invited to register for participation. A group that is as diverse as possible is then selected again at random from the responses, taking representative population data into account.

This group comprises up to 20 people and forms the Citizens' Council as a "mini-Innsbruck", reflecting different realities of life.

The necessary legal basis for the random selection from the population register was created in Innsbruck city law with §49a "Dialogue-oriented citizen participation". The associated ordinance defines the framework conditions for such dialogue-oriented participation procedures.

A citizens' council does not make binding political decisions and does not replace elected bodies. The responsibility for decisions remains with the politicians. At the same time, the Citizens' Council brings in important perspectives, concerns and ideas from the population and supplements political debates with everyday perspectives.

What happens with the results?

The results are presented to interested members of the public and representatives from politics and administration as part of a city forum. The recommendations of the Citizens' Council are documented and published in a process report. The ordinance on dialogue-oriented citizen participation stipulates that these results must be taken into account in a comprehensible manner in political decision-making and in internal administrative discussions. However, they are not binding for the political decision-making bodies.

Further information on the Citizens' Council can be found here: Project: Information on the Citizens' Council | City of Innsbruck

Participatory Urban Design

We are all city-makers and can play an active role in shaping our living environment. The Department for Citizen Participation and Participatory Urban Design implements projects that make public spaces more attractive, liveable and sustainable.

With the ‘Create your City’ design competition, the City of Innsbruck has launched an initiative through which creative citizens can submit their ideas, concepts and designs for selected locations via the digital participation platform mitgestalten.innsbruck.gv.at.

The winners will not only receive prize money but also the opportunity to bring their ideas to life in the urban environment, thereby playing an active role in shaping Innsbruck.

Celebrating in public spaces

Celebrating in public spaces is an integral part of public life in many cultures, ranging from small gatherings in the park to large, spontaneous street parties or planned events such as festivals and town fairs.

The Covid-19 pandemic has significantly altered the social habits of Innsbruck’s residents – particularly young adults. During this time, the public has reclaimed public, urban spaces. Specifically, this has had many positive effects on the common good, but at the same time has also presented some challenges for local residents and the city administration.

Since 2021, Service Unit Public participation and participatory urban planning has been acting as an interface between politicians, the administration and party organisers. The focus is on ongoing dialogue between organisers, authorities and politicians, as well as the joint development of solutions for all parties involved. Furthermore, the search is ongoing for venues in the Innsbruck area for parties and festivals, as well as for spontaneous gatherings.

Petitions

A petition is a democratic instrument with which citizens can actively participate in municipal politics. All residents of the municipality have the right to submit their concerns, complaints and suggestions for improvement to the Municipal council as petitions. These must be submitted in writing and signed by the petitioner to the municipal council.

Service Unit Public participation and participatory urban planning provides advice on general questions about petitions. All information on petitions can be found here:

Kinder- und Jugendbeteiligung

Kinder und Jugendliche sind die Zukunft der Gesellschaft. Sie sehen ihr Umfeld häufig mit einem anderen Blick als Erwachsene. Bei den meisten Beteiligungsprozessen finden explizite Veranstaltungen mit Kindern und Jugendlichen statt. Zudem setzt sich der Innsbrucker Jugendbeirat für die Vertretung der Interessen von jungen Menschen ein.

Das City Department Children, Young People and Generations  ist für Kinder- und Jugendbeteiligung zuständig.