EUKN - Germany - Urban development policy challenges in Germany

Urban development policy challenges in Germany

In the 2004 the Urban Development Report of the Federal Government demonstrated the need for action under changing demographic and economic conditions and new tasks of urban development.

The urban development policy is faced by new challenges. In the long term, demographic change in Germany will be characterised by the decline in the population, its continued ageing and heterogenisation – even if different at the regional level. At the same time, the action conditions of national policy are changing radically, now and in the future. Its features include the increasing interlinking of the world economy, the internationalisation of financial markets, the continuing integration of Europe and the global challenges presented by sustainable development.

Towns will only be able to overcome the new tasks and challenges facing them if they take direct account of the interests of all those involved, if joint design and joint determination are improved. The involvement of citizens is therefore an essential requirement for the way to the town of the future.

The changes must be taken as an opportunity, and the associated tasks faced actively and vigorously. This will result in new possibilities for the future viability of towns and regions. Readiness for modernisation, democratic culture and the will to preserve and improve the economic and ecological bases are important components of this task.

For sustainable future urban development, the following focal topics stand at the centre of political decision-making requirements:

settlements development under changed general conditions — orientation towards cities;
city cooperation at the regional level;
using the declining land use as an opportunity — making neighbourhoods more attractive for families with children;
creating socially stable urban neighbourhoods — regarding migration as an opportunity;
adapting the infrastructure to the needs of the elderly;
making mobility compatible with cities and the environment;
strengthening cities as business and innovation locations;
maintaining retail trade with its diversity — strengthening central supply areas;
improving local planning and private investors;
putting a different complexion on cities — culture forms cities;
maintaining old historic cities and using them as an economic factor;
intensifying modernisation of the existing building stock — reducing CO2 emissions.

Urban development is a task of the States and municipalities, in which the Federal Government also lend a hand by means of legislation and financial aid. The Federal Government takes several measures to meet future challenges e.g.:

The building regulations amended in 2004 created the legal basis for the implementation of urban restructuring measures and measures of the “Social City”.
Building and regional planning regulations include useful instruments for co-operation at the regional level.
For co-operative urban development procedures, the building regulations open up a wide range of possibilities for conceptual and consensual action.
The urban development programmes by federal government and the States for towns must be consolidated at a high level.
The infrastructure programme for cities of the Bank for Reconstruction supports municipalities in their tasks for the development of the infrastructure.
The 2003 Housing Modernisation Programme (Wohnraum-Modernisierungs-programm 2003) and the CO2 Building Renovation Programme (CO2-Gebäudesanierungsprogramm) of the KfW is making a major national contribution towards urban development by instituting comprehensive renovation of existing housing stocks, particularly with regard to energy utilisation and emissions.
The proposals of the EU Commission are basically being supported, building on the experience obtained from the community initiative URBAN, aimed at combating urban problems and continuing to support urban renewal as part of EU structural policy from 2007 and integrating these into the declared objectives.
In order to ensure sufficient flexibility for those responsible for the prog rammes at a local level, care must be taken to ensure that suitable, optional subsidisation facilities are made available.
The National Environmental Protection Programme (Nationale Klimaschutzprogramm) will be continued. The EU Directive on the overall energy efficiency of buildings will be implemented.

Contact: Federal Ministry of Transport, Building an Urban Affairs

Federal Ministry of Transport, Building an Urban Affairs

Urban development policy challenges in Germany (PDF, Eng, 60 KB)