 | Urban Renewal – Urban Development in Germany in the 1970s The challenges facing urban policy are changing increasingly rapidly in the
same way as technical, economic and social conditions. This article outlines
important development approaches and milestones of societal and urban change
during the 1970s in Germany.
In the 1970s the so-called “energy crisis” hit the highly-developed
industrial states at the very time when the spatial limits of the cities were
becoming apparent. In West Germany the migrations of inhabitants and companies
to the urban fringes increased.
Up until then urban policy in the Federal Republic of Germany had been too
focussed on building new housing and had neglected existing housing stock. But
now the Urban Renewal and Town Development Act created the basis for the renewal
of the cities. “Urban construction deficits” were from now on the object of
comprehensive promotion.
At the beginning of the 1970s the state government of the German Democratic
Republic had the ambitious goal of satisfying housing requirements by 1990. And
during this decade new housing construction activities actually did reach the
highest level in the history of the German Democratic Republic. However, this
huge effort was only possible at the price of completely concentrating economic
resources on new construction and at the same time exploiting every possibility
of minimising building expenditure and effort.
In the Federal Republic of Germany the return to past values of urban
qualities characterised the changed assessment of the value of previously
neglected urban districts. Nevertheless the beginning of the urban renewal phase
was characterised by a large-scale redevelopment. However, during the past few
decades in several towns and cities there were already signs of a careful urban
renewal, taking into account the cultural heritage and the securing of stable
neighbourhoods. Since this time the preservation of buildings of historic
interest has become a important component of urban policy.
In the German Democratic Republic the drawback of the urban policy fixated
with new buildings was that the old building stock was completely neglected.
There was practically no maintenance and redevelopment of the old districts or
an inner development of the cities. The new building projects were almost exclu
sively realised in the urban fringe. The logic of reducing building expenses
resulted in a drastic increase in the density of the residential areas and a
reduction in urban qualities.
National expert:
Manfred Fuhrich
Organisation: Federal Office for Building and Regional Planning Function: Head of Section I 2 – Urban Development |
| ||
| | |
