Citizens granting subsidies
(Berlin)
This project has been put into the archive. The project details will not be updated anymore.
Photography: Quartiersmanagement
The Boxhagener Platz quarter is situated in the Berlin district of Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg. With approximately 19.300 residents, the 75 ha area featuring typical late 19th century (the "period of foundation”, i.e. period of rapid industrial expansion in Germany starting around 1871) buildings is one of the city’s most densely populated districts. It is also one of 15 Berlin areas to be included in the programme „Social City“ (Soziale Stadt) targeted at supporting the restructuring process. A district management which initiates and develops projects with the involvement of the residential community was established in 1999.
Source: BIS Stadtteilmanagement
The model project „district fund“, which is being subsidized by the Berlin City Senate, provided the “Social City” area around Boxhagener Platz square with approximately 500.000 euros in the years 2001 and 2002. Local representatives could decide on the allocation of these funds independently of the administration and party politics.
23 interested residents where selected as a fund allocation committee for the 36-strong panel by a random method. The remaining members of the panel were representatives of various interest groups and social organizations, businessmen and landlords who predominantly also lived in the quarter. This public jury decided on the applications received using defined decision criteria based on standing rules. There were no set specifications given concerning the form of the application and no restrictions on who might qualify. All applications were processed by a local office in a uniform manner to eliminate disparities in the presentation to the jury.
More than half the applications were related to the social and cultural infrastructure. A quarter of all the applications were aimed at improving the residential environment. The projects included, for example, financing park benches for a playground, installing new bicycle stands in public spaces and subsidizing a nature playground concept for a schoolyard. 59 out of a total of 136 project applications received were approved. A key factor for approval was the evident long-term impact of the respective project. The approved and subsequently realized projects mainly focused on improving the amenities for children and teenagers as well as enhancing the attractiveness of public spaces. The district management took on the roles of organizer and service provider, as well as performing public relations work for the honorary jury.
Following its conclusion in the original form, the project is being subsidized on a lesser scale by the so-called “action fund” (Aktionsfonds) established in 1999 and amounting to 15.000 euros a year. Within a wider framework of strengthening public involvement and discussing public budgets, the Berlin Senate Administration of Urban Development strives to enhance and extend the instrument of “participative budgeting” in a joint effort with district managements and resident juries.
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| March 2000 | Integrated action concept “District Development Boxhagener Platz” |
| 2001 | Start of the model project |
| May - Nov. 2001 | Twelve allocation jury sessions |
| 2002 | Project conclusion |
| From 2003 | Continuation of the jury as a district development committee and experience transfer into the “participative budgets” model |
Source: BIS Stadtteilmanagement
Source: BIS Stadtteilmanagement
With the district fund, direct public sovereignty over financial means in the sense of a local democracy has been tested successfully. The responsible handling of the fund and highly targeted allocation of means demonstrate the decision-making and design freedom enjoyed within a public involvement framework.
The project location can be directly translated into Google-maps. Project in Google-Maps
The projekt site ist to be found at postal code: 10245 - town: Berlin - street: Krossener Straße 9.
Record inserted on 01.07.2004 by Lehrstuhl für Planungstheorie und Stadtplanung, RWTH Aachen and updated by theFederal Institute for Research on Building, Urban Affairs and Spatial Development (BBSR) within the Federal Office for Building and Regional Planning (BBR).
Last update: 26.07.2010