Citizens’ jury with referendum in Flensburg
Flensburg is the first local authority in the German state of Schleswig-Holstein to hold a Citizens’ Jury followed by a referendum. The focus is on the future of mobility in the Baltic Sea city.
The Citizens’ Jury met four times in April and May 2026 and adopted a total of 29 recommendations on 30 May 2026. These will be published on 30 June 2026 and formally presented to the Main Committee of the Flensburg City Council in the form of a citizens’ report. Some of the citizens’ proposals are intended to form the basis for a referendum to be held on the day of the 2027 state election.
The recommendations rated highest by the Citizens’ Jury are:
- Ensure good public transport
- Improve accessibility
- Expand and improve the cycle path network
- Introduce a 30 km/h speed limit in the city centre
Unanimous approval for two recommendations
The recommendations on local public transport and accessibility received unanimous approval from all members of the Citizens’ Assembly (100% approval in each case). “Expanding and improving the cycle path network” received just under 89% approval, whilst the speed limit in the city centre received just under 70%.
Other recommendations with high levels of support relate to reducing traffic congestion at the Deutsches Haus, the accelerated optimisation of traffic light timings, and improving road safety at the central bus station. Participants also wish to see a reduction in traffic jams at the Hafenspitze. Only one recommendation failed to secure a majority. “The Schiffbrücke should be closed to through traffic” received support from just 26 per cent.
Areas of focus
The Citizens’ Jury addressed three areas of focus:
1. Roads and paths: For whom or what?
How should we deal with situations where different modes of transport and usage needs compete for space on the roads and paths?
2. Parking: Where and how?
How should the city use its influence in the design of parking and storage facilities?
3. Regulating traffic: How, when and where?
In which areas should the city use its influence to (re)regulate the flow of traffic?
The Citizens’ Jury was also able to set its own priorities.
Procedure for determining topics
A multi-stage procedure was used to determine the topics, so that as many different views as possible could be incorporated into the process.
Firstly, in January and February 2025, local political representatives and various departments of the Flensburg administration were surveyed using questionnaires on the topic of changes in transport policy. Secondly, an event for various interest groups took place on 26 February 2025.
Public survey
In the third step, the entire population of Flensburg was able to take part in a survey in May and June 2025. Both digitally via the city’s participation platform and through questionnaires made available in public spaces, all residents of Flensburg had the opportunity to submit their key mobility issues. A total of 713 people took part in the survey.
In consultation with local politicians, the planning team had drawn up the proposed topics for the Citizens’ Jury from all the participation results. The City Council’s main committee approved the proposed topics on 9 December 2025.
Citizens’ Jury develops solutions
The Citizens’ Jury met from 17 April to 30 May 2026. Following hearings with experts and extensive discussions across four sessions, the mini-public developed solutions for transport planning in the city of Flensburg.
Whether these are implemented will ultimately be decided by the entire population of Flensburg in a referendum. All citizens are called upon to vote at the ballot box on some of the Citizens’ Jury’s recommendations on the day of the state election on 18 April 2027. The result is binding.
Mini-public members selected by lottery
The 32 members of the Citizens’ Jury were selected from the general public by lottery. Participants were chosen at random from the official register of the Residents’ Registration Office, taking into account filters such as age, gender and residential district. In total, 1,500 people from Flensburg were contacted in this way in January 2026.
Those selected had until 6 February 2026 to respond. 99 people who had not responded by the deadline were visited at home. Through this so-called ‘door-to-door selection process’, people were personally invited to join the Citizens’ Jury. The process aims to encourage participation from people who, based on experience, rarely get involved in participatory processes.
174 interested parties
More than 30 per cent of those contacted responded to the invitation. 174 people had expressed an interest in participating in the mini-public. This represents a response rate of 11.6 per cent.
From the applications, a group of people was randomly selected to provide as accurate a representation as possible of Flensburg’s population, based on criteria such as age, gender, educational attainment, residential district, migration background, travel habits and membership of the Danish minority. To this end, those selected who were interested in participating provided the relevant details in their applications.
Due to illness, only 28 of the 32 members originally scheduled to take part in the Citizens’ Jury were present at the start.
‘It’s good that citizens are being involved’
‘I think it’s good that citizens are being involved,’ says Julius Krause, a student from Flensburg. He usually travels by bus. His preference for public transport is what motivates him to take part in the Citizens’ Jury.
‘It’s actually quite exciting to have a say in things for once,’ says Laura Korock. The 32-year-old works as a research assistant at the University of Flensburg. She cycles a lot. In doing so, she repeatedly notices areas where road safety is compromised. She wants to draw attention to this problem in the mini-public.
‘A great format’
Martina Hast is pleased with what she and the other Citizens’ Jury members have come up with. She is now looking forward to seeing it put into practice. 'We’ll see what comes of it in the end,' says the 54-year-old forklift driver, 'but I think what has come out of it is good.' Overall, she found the experience very instructive, and the perspectives of other road users and experts very interesting. 'If it really does lead to something,' she says, the Citizens’Jury is definitely something that could be repeated.
At the closing session, Mayor Fabian Geyer personally thanked all the participants and admitted: 'It is often said that people are not being heard, and that is indeed the case. That is why, I believe, this is a great format.'
The Citizens’ Jury process is being reviewed and evaluated by the Institute for Democracy and Participation Research at the University of Wuppertal to ensure compliance with quality standards for randomly selected citizen participation.
Klima trifft Kommune
The Citizens’ Jury and referendum in Flensburg form part of the pilot project “Klima trifft Kommune" run by Mehr Demokratie (More Democracy) and the Gesellschaft für Klima und Demokratie (Society for Climate and Democracy). The project focuses on linking formally non-binding climate citizens' juries with binding referenda. The city of Flensburg is participating in this project as a pilot municipality. Also taking part are the municipalities of Osterburg and Pinneberg, as well as the Berlin district of Marzahn-Hellersdorf.
The Robert Bosch Foundation and the Deutsche Postcode Lotterie (German Postcode Lottery) are funding the project. The shared aim is to involve the public more closely in concrete political decisions and to bring democracy to life.
Project awarded
On 4 June 2025, the “Klima trifft Kommune" project was awarded the “Bewährt vor Ort" (Proven Locally) seal by the German Association of Towns and Municipalities and the “Re:Form” initiative. The project makes local authorities more resilient to climate change by involving citizens early in decision-making processes, enabling them to develop solutions for climate targets whilst simultaneously strengthening trust in democracy.
The “Bewährt vor Ort” seal recognises successfully tested changes to administrative practice and its rules, as well as projects implemented jointly by an administrative body and a non-profit organisation. In 2025, a non-partisan jury of administrative practitioners honoured pioneering municipal innovations for the second time. A total of 29 projects across four thematic areas were recognised.