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Saving Lankows Park? Referendum mobilizes 4,300 votes!
In Schwerin, citizens will decide on January 25, 2026 whether to maintain a park in Lankow. 4300 signatures for receipt!
Saving Lankows Park? Referendum mobilizes 4,300 votes!
In Schwerin's Lankow district there is a popular 4,800 m² park that not only serves as a climatic health resort for families and children, but is also an important meeting place for seniors and young people. But now this green retreat is in danger of being forgotten due to the city council's decision to sell the park to an investor. The plan is to build a commercial property with shopping areas, medical practices and condominiums, with almost half of the area being used as customer parking spaces. However, many citizens are skeptical about the project, especially since the new doctors' practices are unlikely to create any additional treatment places, as there are currently no new statutory health insurance approvals in Schwerin, as [Schwerin.news](https:// Schwerin.news](https:// Schwerin.news/2026/01/16/bsw-kreisverband-Schwerin-unterstutzt-burgerbegehren-zum-erhalt-des-stadtteilparks/) reports.
In view of the planned changes, a group of affected citizens has launched a citizens' petition that has already collected 4,300 signatures. This step shows how important the preservation of the park is to the people of Lankow. The citizens' initiative is also supported by the BSW Schwerin district association, which advocates for the interests of the population. The referendum at which the decision to sell the park and playground will be made will take place on January 25, 2026 and marks the first substantive referendum in the city's history, as well [NDR].
Citizen participation and co-determination
The Schwerin city administration had prepared around 80,000 letters for the vote by mid-January. But for the referendum to be valid, at least 25% of the citizens eligible to vote, i.e. around 20,000 people, must cast their vote. All residents aged 16 and over, including Germans and EU citizens who have been registered in Schwerin for at least 37 days, are eligible to vote. The decision to hold the referendum separately from the mayoral election on April 12, 2026 is intended to give investors planning security.
Citizen participation is an essential part of urban development, enabling people to actively participate in shaping their living space. In addition to transparency, this form of participation also promotes trust in the political processes. A successful example of citizen participation can be the design of living spaces in Stuttgart, where citizens were successfully involved in the planning of development plans, as highlighted on [Nutzdeinenortdannhaltenwirdort.de](https://nutzdeinenortdannhaltenwirdort.de/wie-buerger participation-die-stadtentwicklung-beeinflusst/).
The citizens who actively participate in the citizens' initiative make a significant contribution to the quality of life and social coexistence in the community. Your voice has the potential to pave the way for sustainable solutions and send a strong message against the destruction of green spaces. In view of the sufficient shopping opportunities that already exist in Lankow and the citizens' demands for the use of existing brownfield sites for new construction projects, it remains to be seen how the referendum will turn out.