Die Bürgerinitiative — The Residents' Campaign

Citizens' Initiatives

A Bürgerinitiative is an informal group of residents who organize around a specific local issue: a road, a school closure, a building project, a park. The form became widespread in West Germany in the 1970s, especially around environmental and planning questions, and it remains a common way for people to get involved in politics without joining a party. In Berlin, residents of a district can submit an Einwohnerantrag, a residents' motion, to the district council if they collect a set number of signatures from people living in the district; the council must then discuss the issue. With more signatures, a district-wide referendum can be triggered. Online petitions, leaflets and information stands at markets are also part of the toolkit, and many initiatives work with tenants' associations or environmental groups. The word Wutbürger, angry citizen, was named German word of the year in 2010 during protests against a large railway project in Stuttgart. It is often used to dismiss protesters as merely angry, and many initiatives make a point of presenting constructive alternatives instead of only saying no.