Only when a person has an idea about something is it possible to implement it! This is all the more true when many people are asked to envision a change and can only realize this future together.
"Everything you can imagine is real." Pablo Picasso
The most popular approach in German-speaking urban development to imagine something collectively is currently the real laboratory.
Comparison of real-world labs and policy games
Interventions are temporarily introduced into the street space, and what happens and the level of acceptance of the changes are observed. The experimental setup remains stable and unchanged over time. Games or policy games, on the other hand, are variable, allowing for faster adaptations and greater variation in the experiment.
The German Transport Club (VCD) commissioned us for the "EDIY Initiative" to make the transport transition tangible. What might an inner-city district of the future look like? How do we get there? The focus is on the street space; after all, it is many things at once. It serves as a parking lot as well as a temporary playground. No one use of the street is better or worse than another.
This resulted in a digital negotiation game based on the concrete situation of the Gärtnerplatz district in Munich. The rules abstract the situation so that any other municipality in Germany can be mapped with the game. The players represent stakeholders with their respective interests. Groups form. They try to develop viable ideas for the use of street sections or intersections. Implementation is only successful with the support of residents, the backing of politicians and administrators, and, of course, sound arguments. Otherwise, the projects fail or are postponed. The turn-based structure of the game allows for variation in the framework conditions.
The advantage of this approach is that participants don't have to wait for lengthy investigations. There's room for conflicts with annoyed residents and business owners, but these remain in play. Thus, a picture of the future is created in the moment, before everyone's eyes. The consequences of this vision can be tested immediately, without risks to, for example, retail sales. Interests are represented, no one is forgotten, everyone is involved.