How decades of debate over Stuttgart’s train station boosted local democracy

The dispute over Stuttgart’s new main railway station has raged for decades. Over the past 15 years, politicians in the German state of Baden-Württemberg have drawn lessons from the saga and, with Swiss support, bolstered municipal democracy. Every Monday evening, Stuttgart’s city centre fills with noise as protesters blow whistles, beat drums and shake rattles. This weekly racket has been going on for nearly 800 weeks. The ongoing resistance to the Stuttgart 21 project is the longest-running wave of protests Europe has ever seen.