We are shaping the town and region

Modern urban and regional development is participatory. It motivates citizens to play an active role in shaping the urban and regional development and encourages civic engagement. The participation in projects and programmes is called “coproduction”. This is based on the idea that the town and region can better evolve if the various players are actively involved in the overall development through projects and investments, but also through small initiatives and actions. The ability to cooperate and innovate is crucial in enabling towns and regions to be competitive on a social, economic and ecological level and making them successful and liveable. Promoting the participation of citizens in different forms and formats is one of the key demands of the European Urban Charta.

Participation programmes and projects have a very long tradition in the sunny town of Lienz. Projects that have been successfully developed together with the population include the urban heating, the town market, the gradual development of the town centre as well as initiatives on air quality and environmental protection, civil protection, etc. Lots of small topics and problems of urban everyday life such as security, safety and cleanliness issues, greening of public spaces, etc. have also been addressed or resolved in collaboration with the affected citizens.

The sunny town of Lienz is doing very well compared to other towns and cities. To combine forces a special division for local development, economy and marketing was created from the former “Stadtmarketing Lienz” in 2016. On average, the town organizes up to 30 meetings, work sessions, discussions, etc. per year which were previously held in meeting and conference rooms of the Liebburg.