Training and political engagement in German-speaking cities and regions

Between June and November 2025 three online training sessions have been developed and carried out by VISION5. Partners collaborated with the German Environment Agency (UBA), a branch of the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Climate Action, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMUKN), for the capacity building in the German-speaking region. A total of between 50 and 60 people from cities and regions in Germany and Austria took part in each of the individual training sessions. The first session, “Good arguments for a strategic parking policy”, dealt with the strategic orientation of a modern parking policy – the theoretical part took the form of slides, where parking policy was examined from different angles on the basis of strategies, questions and topics, and the mindset for possible solutions was broadened. In the practical part, participants discussed possible implementation ideas on what cities can implement quickly and easily within the framework of European Mobility Week (EMW). The session ended with presentation and discussion of the group work results. The second session, “Communication of parking management to different target groups and stakeholders and increasing acceptance”, presented practical recommendations supported by European examples of good practice. Each recommendation was followed by discussion, assessment surveys, and estimation games. This session was primarily designed for decision makers. The third session was designed in three parts with external presenters.

1. The Parking Policy Audit (ParkPAD) tool was presented to a broad audience, focusing on its purpose, implementation method, and effort required by cities, including the approach in NXTLVL’s partner city Rostock.
2. The implementation of a modified ParkPAD in Baden-Württemberg was presented through an interview with the implementing organisation.
3. The session addressed ‘How to deal with parking standards?’ and ‘Where can cities exert influence?’, supported by examples from Germany. Two external speakers, Martina Hertel (DIFU) and Bastian Wetzke (NVBW), joined the main presenters Robert Pressl and Claus Köllinger (Vision5).