Cultural Projects
Hilde geht raus!
A real-world lab for participatory urban design in Hildesheim
“Hilde geht raus!” was a participatory cultural and urban project that invited residents in different Hildesheim neighborhoods to imagine, test, and temporarily create new uses for public space. By turning connected streets into car-free areas for a weekend, the project opened space for encounters, workshops, cultural activities, music, and neighborhood-led ideas.
Project Focus
The project explored how streets can become places of social exchange again. Instead of treating public space as a corridor for cars, “Hilde geht raus!” approached the neighborhood as a shared cultural space shaped by its residents. The process combined participation, artistic programming, sustainability, and local dialogue.
Method
In the weeks before each project weekend, neighborhood conversations and workshops were organized to gather ideas, identify local concerns, and develop realistic interventions together with residents. During the project weekends, the streets were temporarily transformed into spaces for exchange, experimentation, and public activity.
Goals
- Temporarily co-create public space with residents
- Increase identification with the neighborhood and its public life
- Strengthen self-efficacy through participation
- Create encounters that support awareness, tolerance, and exchange
- Open up discussion about mobility, sustainability, and the future of urban life
Examples of Activities
- Open neighborhood workshops
- Music and stage programs
- Children’s activities and playful street use
- Long tables, seating areas, and shared social spaces
- Ideas for greenery, mobility, and redesigned streets
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Process
A key part of the project was the participatory preparation phase. In the “Quartiersgespräche”, residents first mapped challenges in their neighborhood, then imagined what the area could become if more space were available for people rather than cars. These ideas were clustered, discussed, and refined together into formats that could be tested during the project weekends. In this way, the project did not simply present a finished program — it built the program together with the people who lived there.
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Graffiti-Workshop
Project Document
The project concept and process are documented in the PDF below.
Aftermovies
Two short aftermovies document different moments and atmospheres of the project weekends.
Steingrubenfest
A short impression of the temporary street transformation, neighborhood activities, and public atmosphere.
Neustadtfest
A second video impression focusing on participation, performance, and the shared use of the street as a social space.