Cologne's new event rules: Urban planning is stalling!

Cologne's new event rules: Urban planning is stalling!

The new rules for events in Cologne's central squares such as the cathedral are a long time coming. While the city of Cologne announced in April 2024 that a citizens' assembly would develop the new guidelines after the summer break, there has been little progress since then ksta.de reported. The city council is expected to decide on the new regulations at the end of 2024 or beginning of 2025. These delays raise questions about the use of public space, particularly the burden on residents.

Mayor Henriette Reker's goal is to give the city more “room to breathe”. One of the central concerns of the new mission statement is to establish clear rules about which events are permitted on places like Roncalliplatz. Daniel Kölle, the former head of the events department, explained that the mission statement is intended to answer the question of what events the city of Cologne wants. This means that a balance must be struck between the interests of residents, businesses and the general public.

Citizens' councils for more participation

Anyone who thought that the city administration sufficiently involved citizens in the planning will be surprised to hear that there has been a new citizens' council since last week. This will, among other things, deal with the topic of “Mobile in a livable neighborhood”. Solutions should be found to reduce traffic in certain parts of the city opinionfor.koeln. The members of the citizens' assembly are selected by lottery in order to represent the broadest possible spectrum of the population and are then informed and advised about the topics discussed.

Citizens' assemblies have become a relevant authority in Germany's political landscape in recent years. They offer a platform to give randomly selected citizens the opportunity to develop recommendations for action on political problems. These recommendations are then recorded in a final report and handed over to politicians, as is also the case more-democracy.de explained succinctly.

Challenges in public spaces

Back in the city center: The city of Cologne has already developed an “allocation concept for events in central squares” that regulates the number of event days. There are currently 63 event days planned for the Heumarkt, which amounts to a total of 107 days, including set-up and dismantling. It will be all the more important how the new rules reconcile the interests of residents and the associated noise problems, because according to the NRW leisure noise decree, only 18 days are defined as “rare events” on which more noise is permitted.

It remains to be seen what the city's new concept will look like and whether it will succeed in meeting the demands of city residents. Because public space is not only a place for events, but also a living space in which Cologne residents want to relax and feel good.