You don’t experience a city through a map.
You experience it in your immediate surroundings, on the way to school, in the park, on the neighbourhood square, and in conversations with the people who live next door.
As Mayor of the City of Düsseldorf, I am convinced that strong cities have deep roots – in the neighbourhoods where people live their everyday lives.
Turning neighbourhood data into local insight
For nearly a decade, our Zukunft Quartier.Düsseldorf initiative has focussed on active neighbourhood and community development, with the aim of giving people similar opportunities to thrive wherever they live in Düsseldorf.
Our first major challenge was to identify those neighbourhoods facing particular challenges. How do you know where support is most needed, and what kind of support will make a difference?
Effective neighbourhood development depends on a strong foundation of knowledge.
That is why the City of Düsseldorf developed the Quartiersatlas, a data-based analytical tool. The Quartiersatlas contains 17 thematic categories with around 100 individual indicators. The result is a set of neighbourhood profiles that provide a quick overview of the characteristics and needs of each area.
Data needs local knowledge
This analysis provides an important basis for our work. But while an atlas can show patterns, it cannot always explain them. Data therefore needs to be complemented by the experience of the people who live and work in a neighbourhood.
That is why our engagement with communities on the ground is so important. In Düsseldorf, we have learned that small, accessible measures can make a real difference – such as workshops in the areas of action, neighbourhood funds, and neighbourhood activities.
One of our tools is the citywide neighbourhood development conference. It brings together people and organisations involved in neighbourhood development from across the city. They come together to discuss, share information and build connections. The conference plays an important role in making neighbourhood development a lasting part of the city’s work.
More than 130 experts took part in the first forum in 2018, and in 2026, around 150 representatives came together to discuss the future of intergenerational neighbourhoods.
Plenary session of the 2026 conference, “Shaping Our Urban Community – Perspectives for Intergenerational Coexistence,” Photo: Dirk Rose, City of Düsseldorf
The workshops held in the individual areas of action are another central element of the project. They bring together existing talents, resources and local stakeholders, as well as challenges, gaps and needs, and provide a space to discuss and further develop them. The aim is to create a shared understanding of neighbourhood development and to identify a common, integrated way forward.
Workshop “Chairs Out” in Lierenfeld – neighbours were invited to bring a chair and join others on the lawn in front of their homes, Photo: City of Düsseldorf, Jana Hansen
Turning evidence into visible action
Analysis and consultation only build trust if people can see that they lead somewhere.
That is why Zukunft Quartier.Düsseldorf also includes practical tools that allow communities to act on local priorities.
In selected areas, neighbourhood and discretionary funds provide small amounts of financial support to community institutions, associations, working groups and residents.
Local committees, supported by the city administration, help decide how the money is used.
Through the “Hoch das Beet” initiative, for example, residents can receive a raised garden bed for their neighbourhood. The city provides the framework, while neighbours plant, maintain and harvest it together.
Small-scale projects cannot replace the longer-term investment needed to address structural inequalities. But they can strengthen connections between residents, create visible improvements, and complement our efforts to address deeper neighbourhood challenges.
A colourful façade now adorns the exterior of St. Theresia daycare center in Garath. The design incorporated the wishes and ideas of the children and their parents.
Photo: St. Theresia, Artwork: Daria Broda / Künstleragentur Hase läuft
Participatory theatre project at the Mörsenbroich Adventure Playground.
Photo: Abenteuerspielplatz Mörsenbroich, Daniel Koplowitz
Three lessons for other cities
Düsseldorf’s experience does not offer a model that can simply be copied from one city to another. The indicators, institutions and neighbourhood priorities will differ.
But the underlying lessons are transferable.
First, invest in local data. Urban prosperity can conceal important differences between neighbourhoods, and better local data can help make those differences visible.
Second, engage with communities. Indicators can reveal where needs are concentrated; residents and local organisations can often help explain why.
Third, deliver visible results. Small-scale projects are not a substitute for long-term investment, but they can give communities a meaningful role while larger changes take time.
For us, this is the central lesson of Zukunft Quartier.Düsseldorf. Strong neighbourhood policy needs both a wide-angle view of the city and a close-up understanding of everyday life.
The Quartiersatlas gives us the first. Working with residents helps provide the second. Bringing the two together is how cities can move from simply mapping inequalities to responding to them.
To learn more about the OECD’s work on related topics, see:
Dr. Stephan Keller (born on 18 September 1970) has been Mayor of the State Capital Düsseldorf since 1 November 2020.
Born in Aachen, he studied law in Bayreuth, Birmingham (UK) and Bochum. In 1995, he passed his First State Examination in Law in Bayreuth and obtained a Master of Laws (LL.M.) from the University of Birmingham (UK) in 1996. He subsequently passed his Second State Examination in Law in 1999.
In 1999, Dr. Stephan Keller initially served as a judge at the Administrative Court in Cologne before joining the Association of German Cities (Deutscher Städtetag) as an advisor. The following year, he became Head of Office to the Chief Executive, a position he held until 2005.
From 2006 to 2010, Dr. Stephan Keller served as an Executive Board Member of the Association of Towns and Municipalities of North Rhine-Westphalia, responsible for urban development, environmental affairs and municipal services.
In 2010, he obtained his doctorate in law from Ruhr University Bochum.
He was subsequently appointed to the Executive Board of the State Capital Düsseldorf, where he was responsible for legal affairs, public order and transport from 2011 to 2016.
From January 2017 to October 2020, Dr. Stephan Keller held the position of City Director of Cologne.
Following his successful election, he took office as Mayor of the State Capital Düsseldorf on 1 November 2020. On 28 September 2025, Dr. Stephan Keller was re-elected Mayor of Düsseldorf.