Do it yourself
In Maastricht, we're working together for the city. A nice place for all residents to live, work and enjoy life. The municipality carries out many tasks in the city. From collecting waste and redesigning neighbourhoods to giving sports lessons in schools and carrying out laws and rules. Maybe you have some ideas about how things can be better in your street, neighbourhood or in the whole city. Read below to see in which ways you can do something with your idea or initiative.
Citizen's budget
With a Citizens’ Budget, you and other residents decide how part of the government’s money is spent. The Citizens’ Budget is about carrying out projects that are submitted and chosen by residents. In other words: it’s up to you!
Starting a residents’ initiative
A group of people who want to improve their street or neighbourhood is called a residents’ initiative. It can be many things. For example, creating a play or sports area in a field nearby. Or managing a community centre, or working on safety in the street. You can also join an existing initiative or a plan from the municipality. When you let other people talk about your plans, work together or help decide, this is called participation.
Look for support for your idea
If you have an idea, it is important to talk about it with people in your neighbourhood. A plan has a better chance of success when more people join and support the initiative. This is especially important when something in the neighbourhood will change. In that way, people are not surprised by a decision.
Make a list of the wishes of neighbours, business owners, neighbourhood groups, organisations or the government. Think carefully in advance about who you want to reach and what you want to achieve. There are many ways to bring people together for an initiative. This depends on how difficult the plan is, how many people are involved, and the time or money needed. Because every situation is different, participation is always different too.
Who can help?
Maastricht has 7 city districts. Each district has its own district manager and district alderman from the municipality. The district manager is the first person you can contact if you have a plan or idea. The district manager can think along with you and connect you with residents, civil servants or organisations that can help.
Look on the page Mijn Stadsdeel to see who your contact person is. Or send an email to gebiedsgerichtwerken [at] maastricht.nl (gebiedsgerichtwerken[at]maastricht[dot]nl).
Challenge the municipality
The municipality does many tasks in the city. Do you sometimes think: can this not be done in a better or different way? As a resident, you may take over a task from us if you think you can do it smarter, easier, cheaper and/or faster. In this way, you challenge the municipality! We call this the “Right to Challenge”.
It is important that you carry out the plan yourself. Want to know how to do this? Look at the Uitdaagrecht page (in Dutch) for all conditions and information. Do you have questions or do you want to submit a plan? Send an email to participatie [at] maastricht.nl (participatie[at]maastricht[dot]nl).
Vraag het aan de gemeenteraad
The municipal council decides on the most important parts of municipal policy and checks if they are carried out well. Do you want to know what the municipal council can do for your initiative? Go to the page Initiatives at the municipal council.
Report something
Have you noticed something unusual in your neighbourhood? Are you worried about someone? Or did you experience something unpleasant? On this page you can read how to report it.
Apply for a subsidy
Do you want to do or organise something in your neighbourhood? On this page (in Dutch), you can read whether you can receive a subsidy for it.