From Starnberg to St. Petersburg
Our Traffic Planning moderation and modular system is opening up more and more fields of application. After almost four years of practical use, it has become clear that the Traffic Planning simulation game can address a wide range of mobility topics. Last year, we were even surprised by how diverse the participants and their questions were.
In the Starnberg district, the question posed to participants was: How can the region deal with the growing leisure traffic, and what solutions do they see? Our workshops in the cities of Grafenwöhr, Dachau, and Merseburg focused on regional mobility and how people with different social backgrounds can get to work or simply see their family doctor. During German Week in the Russian city of St. Petersburg, with a population of one million, the focus was on getting to know this new and innovative participation format. We were able to demonstrate this through a discussion on linking old and new public transport options in a central inner-city district of St. Petersburg.
In all our sessions, we begin with a joint analysis of the current transport system. Mobility experts from politics, administration, and the public develop a jointly supported picture of the situation. In all games, we invite participants to shift their perspective and thus look at their region, city, or neighborhood. The selection and composition of roles varies, determined by the local issue. In one case, the group emphasizes the time of day, in another, the transitions between systems, and in a third, the capacity of existing parking spaces. In the next expansion, we will work with prepared scenarios to more specifically bring "unusual" suggestions into the discussions. And every time, the tactile, modular format of Traffic Planning proved its worth. This allowed us to respond immediately to the participants' wishes and make the necessary adjustments.
The games were embedded in workshops in which participants explored mobility reserves and concrete changes. The most interesting discussions arose in mixed-age and mixed-education groups.