Participation

On December 11, 2013, the first workshop with key players in inner city development took place in the Valencia Room at Mainz City Hall. The workshop, designed as a semi-public event, served the purpose of informing key players in Mainz's inner city development about the task at hand, the process design, and the current status of the position determination, as well as intensifying the transfer of knowledge among the participants and discussing topics related to inner city development.

The event format thus served as a participation platform in the first planning phase for the professional public as well as representatives of local institutions and Mainz politicians. To this end, the various topics of inner city development were discussed in detail with the participating stakeholders on the basis of specific questions and statements on the strengths and weaknesses of Mainz's inner city.

The following topics were discussed in depth at the event: Image | Demographics | Housing | Retail | Work, economy, and university | Urban development and city design | Public space | Green and open space | Mobility and transportation. The event began with a presentation by the commissioned working group, consisting of the planning office scheuvens + wachten (Dortmund), BBE Handelsberatung (Cologne), and the transportation planning office Runge + Küchler (Düsseldorf).

This was followed by discussions on the various topics in three different working groups together with the key players in inner city development. In addition to the thematic discussions, expectations of the process, such as assessments, suggestions, and ideas for the development of Mainz's inner city, were also gathered, which will be evaluated by the working group after the event.

On Thursday, March 6, 2014, at 6 p.m., the first public forum on the IEK city center took place in the Great Hall of the Electoral Palace in order to engage in a constructive dialogue with the citizens of Mainz about the objectives and content of the concept and to gather their suggestions as local experts.

During the evening, the team, consisting of the commissioned planning office scheuvens + wachten (Dortmund), which is supported in terms of content in the area of retail by BBE Handelsberatung (Cologne) and in the area of transportation by the office Runge + Küchler (Düsseldorf), presented its initial views on the position. The participants were then asked to share their suggestions for the development of the city center.

In addition, anyone interested also had the opportunity to send their initial comments and suggestions to the working team by email between February 27 and March 27, 2014.

Following the first participation phase, the team will evaluate the various suggestions and publish them on this website. The results will then be incorporated into the position paper, which in turn will form the basis for the next planning phase and further work on the concept.

On July 27, 2014, the second workshop with experts took place at the city hall of Mainz, the state capital. The purpose of this semi-public event was to explain the key objectives and fields of action formulated on the basis of the position determination (phase 1) to the stakeholders involved in the development of Mainz city center and to discuss their relevance for city center development in detail.

After an input presentation by Mr. Kunibert Wachten from the planning office scheuvens + wachten (Dortmund) on the process to date and the key objectives and thematic and spatial fields of action that had been developed, the participants discussed the following fields of action for inner city development in more detail in three working groups: Strengthening the access corridors to the city center | Strengthening Mainz as a shopping city | Strengthening the inner neighborhoods | Strengthening housing and green and open spaces.

The assessments, suggestions, and ideas regarding the key objectives and fields of action will be evaluated by the working group after the event.

As part of the ongoing development of the "Integrated Development Concept," various sub-areas have emerged that could play an important role in the attractiveness and functionality of Mainz's city center. For these areas, it is important to explore their functional and urban planning potential and the possibilities for future design in dialogue with stakeholders. Große Langgasse is one such area that could be given greater importance in the city's structure and take on important connecting functions.

A "Große Langgasse" location conference was held to discuss the design and organizational possibilities with landowners, business owners, politicians, and the city administration. This took place on November 4, 2014, at Mainz City Hall.

At the event, Mr. Kunibert Wachten from the planning office scheuvens + wachten (Dortmund) first presented the objectives and development opportunities. Two working groups then held intensive discussions on the development of Große Langgasse.

The assessments, suggestions, and ideas put forward will be evaluated by the working group following the event.

In the course of the work carried out so far on the "IEK Innenstadt" (IEK City Center), various topics have emerged that could play an important role in the attractiveness and vitality of Mainz's city center. To this end, it is necessary to explore functional and urban development potential as well as possibilities for future design in dialogue with stakeholders. One focus of Mainz city center development is the strengthening of the inner neighborhoods, with the question of how the residential function in the city center can be further developed in a qualitative and socially acceptable manner. In addition to the question of which spaces are primarily suitable for establishing new residential uses, the main concern is to identify approaches for making the existing neighborhoods fit for the future of living.

In order to discuss the design and organizational options with local and external experts from the housing industry as well as representatives from politics and the city administration, a conference on the topic of housing in Mainz city center was held on February 3, 2015.

At the "theme conference," Mr. Kunibert Wachten (scheuvens + wachten planning office) first presented objectives and positions on the city center as a residential location. To stimulate the subsequent discussion, the topic of "living in the city center" was examined from an "outside perspective" by Dr. Dieter Kraemer (former managing director of VBW, Bochum). Three working groups held intensive discussions on the potential and possible approaches for strengthening the city center as a residential location.

The assessments, suggestions, and ideas put forward will be evaluated by the working group following the event.

On March 19, 2015, the third workshop with key players in inner city development took place.

During this event, the draft master plan and the draft list of projects and measures were discussed. The aim of the workshop was to obtain the participants' initial views on the relevance of the project priorities and to build a consensus on the development priorities.

The draft master plan with the list of projects and measures is available for download.

Following the public launch event in spring last year, further intensive discussions took place with representatives of the city administration, experts and other relevant stakeholders to develop the development concept. The result is now the draft for the integrated development concept for the city center.

The overall concept, including the identified courses of action and project priorities, was presented in detail by the expert at the second public forum on the city center.

The event took place on Tuesday, May 19, 2015, starting at 6 p.m. in the council chamber of Mainz City Hall.

The lead planning office scheuvens + wachten (Dortmund), together with the participating traffic planning office Runge + Küchler (Düsseldorf), presented the process and the relevant projects and measures. Following the presentation, the participants had the opportunity to contribute their suggestions and opinions on the overall concept.