“We must try new approaches”

Christiane Weihe

One municipality between Hamburg and Berlin has long established citizen involvement as part of local politics: for many years, Wittenberge has been committed to integrating a range of perspectives into urban development. How can different actors be inspired to get involved? What are the challenges around participation? These questions are answered by Martin Hahn, head of the building authority in the small town of Wittenberge in north-west Brandenburg. He also reports on initial experiences from the living lab “ZUGG – Shaping futures together in rural areas” (see “Futures tested” on page 10). Under the heading “We make Prignitz”, this initiative aims to improve mobility and revitalise the town centres of Wittenberge and the neighbouring municipality of Perleberg.

Mr Hahn, why does Wittenberge attach such great importance to participation?

We have noticed that often, the classic participatory measures set out in legislation for planning and building proposals do not go far enough. Many residents of Wittenberge never even hear about them. At the same time, it is often difficult to get citizen buy-in for urban development projects. Acceptance of such plans is much higher if we organise some sort of participation beforehand. And at the same time, it makes Wittenberge more attractive as a location.

What do you see as the advantages of ZUGG?

We can find out which participation formats are best suited to our town and benefit from professional back-up. From our point of view, another crucial factor is that the participants are also integrated into the concrete implementation. Other projects often go no further than the brainstorming stage.

After a year or so of the living lab, what has been your experience?

That it never settles into a routine, and has lots of surprises in store. (Laughs) Time and time again, we see that third-party moderation of the process is very important. It is then clear that the municipality is just one stakeholder among many. In addition, it equips us with tools that make the process more effective.

How can citizens be motivated to engage in this kind of process?

Originally we wanted to set up a citizens’ assembly. Unfortunately that has failed for the time being due to data protection. We hope we will be able to realise it at a later date, because then citizens can be consulted in a targeted way. In the end, we used postal mailshots to inform Wittenberge’s residents. In my view, it is also important to offer different formats – like online surveys or workshops, in our case. Furthermore, we should always be clear that the results are the main thing, and not be disappointed if fewer people take part than we thought. But we do also notice the response from citizens is increasing.

What social effects are you seeing?

There is a distinct improvement in the interaction between different stakeholders. In another participation project, for example, we brought together groups that included the housing industry, the retail sector and residents. This results in greater mutual acceptance because people encounter the different points of view at first hand.

What do you regard as the biggest challenges?

At times we do operate under significant constraints – see the problem with data protection. If the plan is to invest in cargo bikes and install temporary furniture in the city centre, then traffic safety and regulatory law also come into the equation. Also, it was not that easy to persuade people to get involved in ZUGG. The fact is, other participation formats were running in parallel; and right now, there are inevitably other problems in society that citizens are more concerned about.

Do you exchange experience with other municipalities?

Yes. And it is built in to many projects as well. This form of exchange is very important, in my view. Because I might be able to learn from another municipality in Brandenburg how it succeeded in establishing a citizens’ assembly. Or I might find out about new formats.

Can you give an example?

Recently I heard of a format that uses a computer game to inspire young people to shape their town themselves. Children and young people can be very difficult to motivate to get involved. This is where we must try new approaches.

Many thanks for the interview.

Interview conducted by Christiane Weihe.

---

Interviewed by eco@work: Martin Hahn, head of the municipal building authority in Wittenberge (Brandenburg).