The Government District Forum was successfully concluded with the event held on September 20, 2023, at the Electoral Palace. Following an intensive dialogue process involving numerous public events, the forum's recommendations were unanimously adopted. Twenty-two individual recommendations set out the civic consensus as the basis for the future character and design of the government district of the state capital Mainz. The next step will be to submit these recommendations to the political committees of the city of Mainz for approval. They will then form the basis for the further qualification process:

The state capital of Mainz is launching a new planning process for the government district of Rhineland-Palatinate with the aim of developing a small-scale urban development concept.

Following an initial series of public events in 2009, the Government District Forum has been reestablished. This new forum will reexamine the government district area with extensive public participation and discuss possibilities for sustainable development.

The results will lead to recommendations that the forum will adopt as the basis for a subsequent qualification process. The recommendations will be submitted to the political bodies for decision. This open discussion process is intended to create a consensus within the urban community on the urban development of the government district.

The forum will be expanded to include additional participation formats (temporary interventions in public spaces, activities, etc.). These participation formats are being developed and implemented in cooperation between the City Planning Office and the Parks and Environment Office, the Office for Economic Affairs and Real Estate, the Office for Youth and Family Affairs, the Office for Culture and Libraries, with the support of the Squirrel & Nuts office and the participation of MVG Mainz and PMG Mainz.

The entire process is managed and supported by a steering group, which meets to prepare the respective process steps and to discuss the respective results.

Dates:
Forum I: April 13, 2023, 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Electoral Palace
Student and youth participation: April 27, 2023-April 28, 2023*
Citizen participation: May 9, 2023, 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. (digital**)
Citizen participation: May 10, 2023, 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. in the Electoral Palace ***
Forum II: June 15, 2023, 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the Rheingoldhalle, Watfordsaal
Safety walk for women and girls: September 8, 2023 (see below for invitation)
Forum III: September 20, 2023, 3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. in the Electoral Palace

* Student participation took place on April 27, 2023, with the Anne Frank Realschule plus neighborhood school and on April 28, 2023, with the Kurfürstliches Schloss neighborhood high school. Youth participation also took place on April 28, 2023, during the open operation of the "Haus der Jugend" (Youth Center) in the project area.

** The digital event on May 9 was held online and was open to all citizens. Up to 1,000 citizens were able to participate in the digital event.

*** Citizen participation in the Kurfürstliches Schloss took place with a representative selection from the population. Every thousandth resident of Mainz was invited in writing to participate in the citizens' assembly. Participation by citizens was voluntary and based on prior consultation. In addition, participants in the forum (steering group and benches) and members of the Old Town and New Town local councils were able to attend the event.

Between July 22, 2023, and August 6, 2023, interventions and actions were carried out in public spaces in the government district.

The aim of the interventions and actions in public spaces was to gain insights for sustainable urban development: the redesign and active use of public spaces through a variety of actions were intended to show residents, citizens, and forum participants new ideas for possible future uses of public spaces.

The interventions and actions were developed and carried out in consultation with the steering group and in cooperation with various departments of the Mainz city administration and other stakeholders.

The following site plan visualizes the locations for the actions/interventions, barriers, and access roads for suppliers and residents.

The Parks and Environment Department installed a spray mist system on Ernst-Ludwig-Platz. This created a natural cooling effect in the immediate vicinity. Beanbags, colorful raised beds, and so-called perspective gates were also set up. A water feature was arranged around the listed anniversary fountain: a blue fiber covering visually highlighted the element of water.

The Schloss parking lot was also redesigned by the Parks and Environment Department during this period. The result was a green oasis with mobile planters, seating, and other exciting open space elements that invited people to linger. During this period, citizens were able to use the former Schloss parking lot to spend their lunch breaks or simply relax.

A small range of food and drink was offered to support the new quality of the "Schlossplatz."

For the duration of the interventions, a history workshop was opened in the former workshop building of the RGZM, which highlighted the history of the government district and its buildings. The concept, which was developed jointly by the Mainz Antiquarian Society and the Department of Monument Preservation of the Building Authority, encouraged people to engage with historical events. Suggestions and requests from citizens regarding a future presentation of the palace's history were expressly welcome. Short tours were offered according to the notice board.

A temporary "bicycle station" was set up on Große Bleiche, which was closed to motorized private transport. Mainzer Mobilität set up a temporary bike rental station with an electric cargo bike. The highlight was a mobile bike wash, which could be used for two days in exchange for a donation to the company "in.betrieb gGmbH." Unfortunately, the wet weather prevented more intense demand.

The company "in.betrieb gGmbH" offered further activities during this period. In the afternoon, the clients of "Ambulantes Wohnen" invited people to play games and have a picnic on Helmut-Kohl-Platz. In addition,

the clients of the "mittendr.in" day care center, together with children from the inclusive Rheinlinge day care center, invited people to join in the colorful festivities on Helmut-Kohl-Platz and Große Bleiche. The

"Polybat" project and a course designed to simulate blindness were further opportunities for active participation.

"Viking chess" was planned for August 3 with the participants of the vocational training department of "in.betrieb gGmbH" (the chess pieces were built by the participants themselves).

An important part of the interventions is their evaluation:
Can an increase in user frequency in the government district be observed as a result of the interventions? Are the new offerings in the open space being accepted? Is there an increase in littering in the area? Are disruptive factors for residents increasing? Are other uses developing in addition to the planned interventions and actions during this period?
These and other findings were made possible with the help of various survey methods, including counts, observations, and interviews with residents, neighbors, and, above all, visitors. A questionnaire could be accessed and answered on site via QR code. City administration employees were on site and randomly approached visitors to ask them to participate in the survey. Their responses contributed to the design of future open spaces.

Within the steering group, valuable ideas for gastronomic and cultural offerings in the government district area were discussed, thoroughly weighed up, and evaluated for the period of the interventions. This led to a helpful insight for the 2023 Government Quarter Forum, namely that the changes faced by the residents of Mainz should primarily take the form of "independent reclamation and appropriation" of the open space by the residents. Special uses that would not represent realistic everyday life in a later redesign of the government district should be avoided.