Prior to this, the students presented their future scenarios for Salzgitter: The topic of "mobility" focused on car sharing, trolley cabs and unnecessary long commutes. On the subject of "Living and working", they developed new approaches with "senior citizens' shared flats" that also look after children. On the topic of "Food", the students wanted to see more sustainable agriculture.

These presentations on the three topics were then the starting point for the ideas workshop, for which discussions took place at three tables: Around 50 citizens, representatives of the local council, the council and members of the environment and climate committee joined the students in these unusual brainstorms, in which neither the financial nor the realistic implementation options played a role for the time being. "We come up with stories; we jump from the present to the future, look back and analyze what is needed for implementation," explained Dr. Saskia Hebert from the Institute for Transportation Design at the HBK, where the students initiate various creative processes for a wide range of scenarios.

Without any guidelines and without any preconceptions, the participants then engaged in various brainstorming games under the motto "Now-How-Wow" and, for example, made a wish: Herb walks in the mountain range for senior citizens and families, an organic food store in Thiede; a café where senior citizens bake cakes and look after children.

At the end, the students briefly presented the results of their three subject areas before the participants agreed that this workshop opened up new perspectives because different people sat together, got involved with each other and engaged in conversation without constraints. There was agreement that changes are needed in Salzgitter in order to position itself well for the future. As many people are afraid of the future and of change, it is important, according to the moderator Kristof von Anshelm from the company von A und Z Inspirationsmanagement, to keep talking to each other, to create places where people can meet and to develop positive stories about the future.

City planning officer Michael Tacke thanked the students and citizens for their active and creative participation. These ideas will be incorporated into the further work of the Environment and Climate Committee. This workshop is important because, independently of the work in the administration and the political committees, new approaches to cooperation and citizen participation were developed that could serve as a model for other urban projects.