Client: Siegen Marketing GmbH
Project period: November 2022 – December 2023
The project in brief
We have been supporting the city of Siegen in North Rhine-Westphalia on its way to becoming a strength-based city brand since 2022. Another mission of Stadtmarketing Siegen GmbH: the development and establishment of city centre management to support the transformation of Siegen’s city center.
Task and background
As in many other cities, coronavirus brought to light what had been smouldering for a long time in Siegen: structural change in the city centre. Vacancies, insolvencies and falling demand for retail space forced the city administration and place marketing to take action in 2022.
But that’s not all: Siegen also recognized the opportunities presented by change and set itself the goal of improving the overall situation for all those involved (traders, property owners, residents, etc.) – and making the city centre the lively heart of the city once again.
Essential to this: city centre management that brings stakeholders together and initiates measures for an attractive centre.
Our tasks in the project
- Potential analysis and process control
- Conception and implementation of city centre management
- Definition and establishment of an organizational structure (task, delimitation, sponsorship)
- Stakeholder management incl. stakeholder map
- Organization and moderation of steering committees and dialogue formats
- Development of fields of action for city centre management
- Development of measures to strengthen the center
Our way of working
Project phases and milestones
- We get to know Siegen – potential analysis, best practices, project plan
- Getting people on board – involving stakeholder groups through individual discussions, city labs, workshops, communication, etc.
- The city centre management becomes tangible – concretize objectives, define fields of action, develop measures
- Getting into action – anchoring city centre management in the city, establishing processes
- Supervision and reflection – advice and support as a sparring partner
Cooperation, goals and fields of action – negotiated in one of several workshops on city centre management in Siegen
The result
A city center thrives on a diverse mix of retail, gastronomy, culture and experiences – a healthy mix of living, working and living and an infrastructure that connects places and people in the city. Siegen’s city centre management accompanies and guides the process towards such an attractive and lively city centre.
The structures, processes and measures we have developed define the tasks of city centre management – and make them measurable and visible over the years:
- Initiating and maintaining project-related collaborations and networks
- Coordination and interface management between stakeholder groups
- Networking of local players from retail, gastronomy, business, culture, politics, associations and citizens
- Providing impetus for the revitalization and development of the city centre (space and vacancy management, quality of stay, activating formats)
- Development and coordination of activities to increase attractiveness
- Communication
The successful establishment of city centre management in Siegen around two years ago was an exciting challenge that we tackled together with Stadtmanufaktur. Thanks to their comprehensive expertise and professional support, we were able to work closely with stakeholders and city center players to develop strategic focal points for action and establish sustainable network structures.
Particularly noteworthy is the always collegial and cooperative partnership at eye level! To this day, the measures developed bear fruit and continue to evolve.
