Munich starts citizen participation: millions for innovative ideas!

Munich starts citizen participation: millions for innovative ideas!

The Munich city administration is breaking new ground to actively involve citizens in shaping their city. With the Munich Budget 2025, one million euros will flow into citizens' suggestions for improving urban life for the first time. The administration has already received over 1,000 ideas, ranging from new sports offerings to park benches and tree planting. As stadt.muenchen.de reports, these suggestions are now being checked for feasibility.

From outdoor fitness equipment, table tennis tables, additional public toilets to book and exchange cabinets - the variety of projects submitted is impressive. Mayor Dieter Reiter encourages Munich residents to get actively involved: “Every voice counts, and we look forward to creative ideas that enrich our cityscape.” The project aims to promote the diversity and creativity of the population, which is a high priority in the city's new tradition of participation.

Coordination and implementation

Citizens have until June 30, 2025 to vote for their favorite ideas on the online platform unser.muenchen.de. All Munich residents aged 14 and over are eligible to participate. The 20 proposals that receive the most votes will be provided with a cost and implementation plan by mid-October 2025. This will also be published on the platform. A second round of voting from October 15 to 31, 2025 will then clarify which projects will actually be implemented.

Each selected project may incur a maximum of 100,000 euros in one-off costs. The final decision is presented to the city council, which distributes the money to the relevant departments. Implementation of the projected proposals is scheduled to begin from January 2026.

Citizen participation in the context of urban development

Citizen participation plays an essential role in urban planning and development, as the University of Frankfurt has highlighted. Decisions in municipal areas are not only the responsibility of the administration, but must also reflect the needs of the population. The approaches to citizen participation range from public displays to discussion forums and planning workshops, although opinions on their meaning and purpose vary greatly.

Overall, the Munich Budget 2025 shows that the city administration takes dialogue with its citizens seriously and is actively looking for how we can work together to create a city worth living in. Anyone interested is warmly invited to contribute their ideas and thus actively contribute to the design of their city. Further information is available on the participation platform and questions can be directed to budget@muenchen.de.