The city administration wants to analyze its interface to the neighborhoods and make optimizations if necessary. In a transparent participation process, opportunities for improvement are sought together with the neighbourhood associations and other neighbourhood organisations.

The neighbourhood associations, the neighbourhood association-like organisations and the city administration have appointed their representatives for the Trace and Development Group. The track and development group accompanies the participation process. Its function is to prepare the first large group conference and to further develop the recommendations from the large group conference and from eParticipation, so that they can be reviewed for critical opinion at the second large group conference.

The  list of members is available under "Documents and links".

The Trace and Development Group, in which the neighbourhood associations, the neighbourhood association-like organisations and the city administration are represented, met for its first meeting on Monday, 5 November 2018, and discussed which organisations should be invited to the first large group conference. The invitation list will be submitted to the project supervisor for a final decision.

The meeting documents are available under "Documents and links" in the "Minutes and presentations" section .

Representatives of the 25 neighbourhood associations, 13 organisations similar to neighbourhood associations, 21 other organisations with neighbourhood and population relevance and 14 representatives of the city administration have been invited to the large group conference. The complete list of invitations is available at documents and links .

Additional organizations and groups can contact us via the contact form until December 16, 2018 if they are interested in participating in the large group conference.

Media release dated November 19, 2018

The Track and Development Group met for its second meeting on Tuesday, January 8, 2019. She discussed the status of registrations and expressions of interest for the greeting group conference on 18/19 January 2019. The list of participants was then submitted to the project management for a final decision. It is available under "Documents and links ".

The first large group conference took place on 18/19 January 2019. More than 100 representatives of various neighbourhood organisations and the city administration took part. The conference took place in a good, constructive atmosphere. The eight topics that have been designated for further work can be commented on by all interested parties in the e-participation from 1 to 28 February. The photo protocol of the event, the presentation and the booklet with the steps of the conference are available at "Documents and Links ".

The Trace and Development Group met for its third meeting on Monday, 28 January 2019. She discussed the e-participation platform and the eight topics that have been designated for further work. In addition, the practice of municipal financing of neighbourhood activities was explained in detail. The presentation of the meeting is available at «Documents and links» .

The participation process for the city's interface with the population in the districts is entering the next phase: From 1 to 28 February 2019, all interested parties can comment online on the results of the first event on 18/19 January. This enables an expansion of the spectrum of perspectives, assessments and ideas. The e-participation platform www.schnittstelle-stadt-quartiere.ch will go live on February 1.

Media release dated 30 January 2019

Throughout the month of February, all interested parties were able to comment on the eight topics identified at the large group conference in January 2019 on the website www.schnittstelle-stadt-quartiere.ch  The website was accessed by 2614 visitors during this period. Of these, 208 people registered, and 68 people made 172 contributions. A first review shows a high quality of the content of the contributions. The project team is now starting to evaluate the contributions so that the newly submitted assessments can be incorporated into further project work.

The Trace and Development Group met for its fourth meeting on Thursday, April 11, 2019. The project team informed the participants about the current status of the project. Together, principles for the functioning of the city-neighbourhood interface and requirements for a future model were discussed and further work was carried out in terms of content. The presentation of the meeting is available at «Documents and links".

The Trace and Development Group met for its fifth meeting on Monday, May 20, 2019. Since the last meeting, two committees have continued to work. They reported on the status of the work. Afterwards, possible elements of a future model were discussed and further substantiated. In addition, the Trace and Development Group dealt with the content and procedure of the second large group conference. The presentation of the meeting is available at «Documents and links» .

The review conference took place on 29 June 2019 and was attended by 90 representatives of various neighbourhood organisations and the city administration. Since the first large group conference in January and e-participation in February, the Trace and Development Group has worked together with the project team to develop seven principles for the functioning of the interface between the city and the population in the neighbourhoods. And she has developed an idea of what a future model for the interface could look like. These results to date were presented at the review conference. The participants have reviewed the results and checked whether they meet the needs expressed in the participation process so far. The photo protocol of the event and the slide presentation are available at "Documents and links ".

Together with numerous neighbourhood organisations, the city has analysed its interface with the population in the neighbourhoods. The participation procedure has now been completed. The results are summarized in a report. This forms the basis for the subsequent substantive specification and the political decision-making process. The report is available at "Documents and links ".

Press release dated 19 September 2019

The Trace and Development Group met for an additional meeting on Wednesday, November 6, 2019. It discussed and further specified the topics of "hubs" and "annual meeting with the city council" – which emerged from the participation process. The presentation of the meeting is available at «Documents and links» .

The City Council is proposing to the City Council to support the 25 neighbourhood associations of the City of Zurich and the Zurich Neighbourhood Conference with CHF 409,200 per year in the years 2021 to 2024. This includes additional contributions to the implementation of annual networking events with other interested neighbourhood organisations.

In the participation process, further proposals for measures to optimize the interface were developed. Their examination and implementation had to be postponed due to Corona. This applies in particular to the testing of so-called turntables. The need for such locally anchored places of networking, information transfer and encounters that complement the existing offers had become clear in the interface process.

Media release dated 27 August 2020

In the participation process, it was desired that the approach of "participatory budgeting" be pursued. With the "Quartieridee" project , the Nextzürich and Urban Equipe associations in Wipkingen are testing a participatory budget at the neighbourhood level. Residents of the neighbourhood and visitors are invited to submit ideas for the design and use of their neighbourhood on a digital platform. Stadtentwicklung Zürich accompanies and supports the pilot project as part of the City Council's Smart City Strategy and the City Council's "Test Smart Participation".  The findings gained in the project are intended to provide the city with a basis for assessing the question of whether the participatory budget is a suitable instrument to strengthen the participation of the neighbourhood population. 

Media release of 21 September 2020

Almost 100 proposals for the design, use or modification of the Wipkingen district were received between 18 September and 24 October 2020 on the platform quartieridee.ch . Now eight projects are being supported with the neighbourhood budget. The project sponsors draw a positive interim balance of the new instrument. With the "Quartieridee" project, the Nextzürich and Urban Equipe associations have tested a participatory budget at the district level in cooperation with urban development. 

Media release of 15 February 2021

One suggestion for optimising the city-neighbourhood interface was the "Digital Neighbourhood Platform" – to bundle and improve the visibility of area-specific information and services and to promote local networking. After a phase of clarifying needs, a test operation will be set up with interested neighbourhood organisations as part of the city council's strategy focus "Testing smart participation". The preparatory work is underway. 

From mid-2022, two new so-called hubs for the Altstetten districts and districts 4 and 5 will start as part of a pilot project. They link and complement existing offers in the neighbourhoods, offer orientation and are places of encounter for the population. The city council has approved 1.9 million Swiss francs for the implementation and evaluation of the pilot test.

Media release dated 7 July 2021

"Participatory budgeting" had been brought into play as a possible approach to supporting projects in the neighbourhoods in the participatory process on the interface between urban and neighbourhoods. After the "Quartieridee" pilot project in Wipkingen, the process is now being tested city-wide with the "Stadtidee". Ideas related to the topics of climate and the environment as well as children and young people are being sought. Stadtentwicklung Zürich is implementing the pilot project as part of the City Council's Smart City Strategy and the City Council's "Testing Smart Participation" strategic focus. The project is financed by ZKB's extraordinary anniversary dividend. The findings gained in the project are intended to provide the city with a basis for determining whether the participatory budget is a suitable instrument to strengthen the participation of the population. 

Media release of 8 July 2021

In the public participation procedures on the interface between urban and neighbourhoods and on the  age strategy , various stakeholder groups from the neighbourhoods and representatives of the population repeatedly expressed the desire for a place in the neighbourhood where they can inform themselves locally about the diverse offers of the city administration and private organisations. They also want to be able to exchange ideas and network with other residents and organisations in the neighbourhood on site. This is as a counterpoint to the fact that services, meeting places and facilities in the districts are constantly being dismantled.

In a pilot project, the City of Zurich plans to develop and test a model for counselling, networking and information centres in the neighbourhoods from mid-2022 to the end of 2025. The operation of such a "hub" in Altstetten is now being put out to public tender. Interested organisations can submit their bids until 29 November 2021 (Information on the call for proposals). It is also possible to merge several organisations into one sponsorship.

Media release of 9 September 2021