Citizens asked: Treptow-Köpenick is planning schools and green spaces!

Citizens asked: Treptow-Köpenick is planning schools and green spaces!

On January 21, 2026, the Treptow-Köpenick district started citizen participation to update its social infrastructure concept (SIKo). Residents can submit their comments and suggestions via the mein.berlin.de platform until February 11, 2026. The SIKo is a central planning instrument that determines where daycare centers, schools, sports facilities, libraries and green spaces should be built or expanded in the coming years. It brings together various specialist plans and is based on the population forecast for Berlin until 2040 in order to cover the growing need for social infrastructure.

Manuel Tyx, spokesman for urban development and construction in the district office, emphasizes the need for smart decisions on land use. The current draft is the first update of the SIKo approved in 2019 and was developed between September 2023 and November 2025. A particular focus is on securing land in view of population growth through new housing construction. In addition to online participation, the details of the draft can also be viewed in the Köpenick town hall.

Participation and access to information

The citizen participation platform offers essential content of the overall report in the form of overview posters. Questions can be directed to a contact person on Tuesdays from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. and Thursdays from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. After the deadline for submitting the information has passed, the district will evaluate it and complete the final concept development by mid-2026.

The SIKo is decided by the district committees as area development planning and is crucial for the district's investment and financial planning. This is particularly important at a time when adequate provision of social infrastructure for the population is becoming increasingly important. Important facilities such as daycare centers, schools, sports halls and public green spaces contribute significantly to the quality of life in urban areas, as was also found in Stuttgart, where the need for a needs-based arrangement of social infrastructure is emphasized.

Challenges of urban development

The challenges in urban development are far-reaching. The federal government's national sustainability strategy set out the goal of reducing new land use to 30 hectares per day by 2020 as early as 2002. Environmentally friendly spatial planning strives to enable space-saving internal development through densification and the reuse or conversion of fallow areas. These approaches are important for Treptow-Köpenick in order to ensure the quality of life in a growing district.

In addition, the increase in city-oriented services and the changing demographic structures - such as the increase in single-person households - are being observed. These developments require a consistent model for sustainable urban development, which is consistently pursued by the SIKo in Treptow-Köpenick. Good settlement structures not only promote social cohesion, but also reduce land use, minimize landscape use and reduce traffic volumes and emissions.

In summary, it can be said that the social infrastructure concept of the Treptow-Köpenick district represents an essential basis for the future development of social and green infrastructure. The successful completion of citizen participation will be crucial to meeting the demands of a growing population.

For further information and to take part in civic participation, please visit the website Berlin newspaper, City of Stuttgart and Federal Environment Agency.