Questions & Answers
Here we answer many, if not all, questions about citizen participation in Wuppertal.
Citizen participation refers to the involvement of citizens in political decisions. In contrast to direct democratic votes, however, the people involved do not decide on specific political projects themselves (such as the redesign of a public square). Instead, they communicate their suggestions, wishes and concerns to the democratically elected politicians and the administration in an organized process. They can and should base their decisions on the results of the participation process. But they are not legally obliged to do so.
A distinction is made between two types of citizen participation:
a) Formal citizen participation: This participation is required by law. This applies, for example, to urban land-use planning, i.e. projects for structural changes to a city. Participation often takes the form of an information event.
In addition, the NRW municipal code provides for various other formal opportunities for participation:
§ Section 24 of the NRW municipal code - suggestions and complaints: This stipulates that anyone may write to the city council or district councils with suggestions and complaints, provided they relate to matters concerning the city. The political bodies must then deal with the matter, make a decision if necessary and inform the applicant accordingly.
§Section 25 of the NRW municipal code - residents' petition: A residents' petition is a specific request that residents address to the city council or the relevant district council. The application must be signed by a certain number of people (8,000 people in Wuppertal). The city council then discusses the requested matter, makes a decision and informs the representatives of the request. In contrast to Section 24 of the NRW Municipal Code, the residents' petition only applies to residents of a city.
§Section 26 of the NRW Municipal Code - citizens' petition and referendum: Citizens can apply (citizens' petition) to decide on a city matter themselves instead of the council or a district council (referendum). Persons who are entitled to vote for the city council or district council on the day of the referendum are eligible to submit an application. The petition addressed to the council must be signed by at least 4 percent of those eligible to submit a petition. For district issues, other percentages apply depending on the size of the district (see current statutes). If the petition is admissible, a referendum is held.
The details of the regulations listed here can be found for the City of Wuppertal in the "Statutes for the implementation of residents' petitions, citizens' petitions, referendums and council referendums in accordance with Sections 25 and 26 GO NRW of 14.07.2017".
Statutes of the City of Wuppertal on residents' applications, petitions and referendums.
b) Informal citizen participation: Informal citizen participation refers to all procedures that are not regulated by law. There are many different methods here, most of which are aimed at a dialog between politicians, administration and citizens on a specific issue. There are very few limits to the topics. Above all, it is important that people actually have scope to shape the process and that their suggestions, wishes and concerns are incorporated into the decisions made by the politicians responsible.
For the City of Wuppertal, citizen participation is a central component of a vibrant democracy and enables citizens to participate even between elections. Participation brings together different perspectives and helps to identify challenges at an early stage and develop viable solutions together. This results in projects and plans that are based on broader acceptance and strengthen the city in the long term. Citizen participation strengthens trust between citizens, politicians and the administration, promotes transparency and enables decisions to be made that are better tailored to people's needs.
At the City of Wuppertal, the staff unit for citizen participation and the promotion of civic engagement is responsible for ensuring the quality of participation projects. The team is the point of contact for citizens who want to get actively involved in municipal plans and projects and are looking for contact persons in the specialist departments or council groups. At the same time, the team supports the departments in examining which municipal projects are suitable for citizen participation and which methods could be used.
The Citizen Participation Advisory Board is a committee with members from politics, administration, citizens and initiatives. Its work focuses on constructive dialog on all issues relating to citizen participation in Wuppertal. Together with the Citizen Participation and Promotion of Civic Involvement staff unit, the Advisory Board ensures the proper implementation of Wuppertal's guidelines for citizen participation.
In Wuppertal, the administration, politicians and citizens have jointly developed guidelines for citizen participationin order to create a binding and reliable framework for citizen participation. The guidelines are therefore overarching rules for good citizen participation in Wuppertal. The city council confirmed these rules in November 2017. In addition to fundamental values for citizen participation such as transparency, good communication and timeliness, the guidelines also set out the establishment of a Citizen Participation Advisory Board and the creation of a so-called project list.
The guidelines were evaluated externally in 2023 and 2024. The advisory board derived measures from the recommendations, which were adopted by the city council in November 2024. Further information can be found here.
It is the task of the staff unit for civic participation and the promotion of civic engagement to bring these guidelines to life in cooperation with politicians, citizens and the specialist departments of the administration.
Apart from formal public participation, which is required by law, there is no clear definition of when residents should be involved. In Wuppertal, guidelines have been developed and adopted by the city council, which form the overarching framework for public participation. For us as the Citizen Participation Team, good citizen participation starts early and is organized together with those affected.
The form of the participation procedure depends on the topic on which participation is to take place, the scope for decision-making and the timing of the participation. The list of possible methods is long and varied. If sufficient time is available, a combination of online participation and on-site events (e.g. citizens' workshops) is a good option.
The results of the participation processes are summarized and passed on to the political decision-making body and the responsible colleagues from the administration. They are also usually publicly accessible (e.g. on project websites or the municipal homepage). Depending on the topic and issue, the results are used as a basis for decision-making or incorporated into the plans of the specialist departments.
There are various ways to find out about planned projects. You can find all the options here.
talbeteiligung.de is the participation platform of the City of Wuppertal. Here you will find all the information you need about citizen participation in Wuppertal. Above all, we inform you about the participation projects in which you can currently participate and the extent to which your feedback is incorporated into political and administrative decisions. You can also take part in some participation projects online on this page, for example by submitting ideas and discussing them with other Wuppertal residents.
