Tom 61 (2003): Zeszyt 3 (March 2003)

Basing on the indicator density of high research and development (R&D) and its spatial distribution in Germany, the article presents a typology of knowledge-based settlements. University-campi, technology parks, science parks, science cities and knowledge-based city landscapes are to be distinguished. The article questions its effects in regard to general trends of suburbanisation, desurbanisation and reurbanisation within city regions. Concluding, the author reflects to what extend it seems possible to stimulate innovative milieus by planning categories as proximity, mixed-uses and density.

The ongoing consumption of open space for settlement and traffic purposes is to be solved by integrating new economic control instruments as well as improved information instruments. The latter combined with spatially small-scaled indicators should be used in order to specify objectives of a sustainable settlement development and to bring these into practise. An example for this is given with the „Information System Sustainable Settlement Development”, a decision support system for the municipal planning process.

In this article the 13 largest East German cities (without Berlin) are compared with cities of similar size in three West German regions (South, Central, North) with respect to their economic and financial situation. The indicators show a differentiated picture. The GDP of the East German cities surmounts that of the Ruhr cities, but is still far below of the cities in the South. Unemployment and migration loss is most pronounced in the East German cities. Nevertheless they dispose of several favorite preconditions for growth in the future: their endowment with qualified human capital, public research and with enterprise-oriented services is above average. This contrasts with a low density of firms. The East German cities have a weak tax base and are disproportionally dependent on financial assignments by the state. Besides the East German cities the data show another “problem group” consisting of the cities of the Ruhr. The disparities between the West German Regions discovered in the 80s are still existing.

Based on a comparative analysis of different types of housing quarters in the large city regions Leipzig, Dresden and Chemnitz in Saxony, the question was considered to what extent the socio-spatial division in the city regions has already taken place at the end of the 1990's, how high the degree of satisfaction is among the inhabitants of the housing quarters and which development trends could result from the potential intentions to move out. As a result of the great dynamics of selective migrations/moves it became clear that the social segregation of the housing quarters is already far advanced. In addition to the forecast developments in the large housing estates, where a process of decline is partly already reinforcing itself continuously, further problematic developments of housing quarters are emerging in the ordinary areas from the period of industrial expansion and — which has been completely ignored in previous considerations so far — in some new suburban housing estates.

The National Strategy for Sustainability envisages a reduction in the amount of land currently being lost to development to just 30 hectares per day by 2020. This is an extremely ambitious target and raises the question as to just what challenges regions will face in striving to implement this objective. In order to explore this question, land consumption in the past is compared and contrasted with permissible future land consumption within the framework of a “bussiness-as-usual” scenario; using a range of indicators, the interdependencies between land consumption and economic development are described. In discussing their findings, the authors present a number of patterns of requirements for regional adaptation and discuss options available through spatial-structure policy for achieving the 30-hectare target.

There are very few regions in Germany today where the current discussion on future demographic developments is not being conducted against the backdrop of looming shrinkage or — at the very least — stagnation. With a population of over four million, the Hamburg metropolitan region is, however, one of these rare cases. All the signs here augur growth — both in the core city and in the surrounding area. The absence of any evident symptoms of a serious crisis possibly goes some way to explaining why there currently appear to be no significant impulses to embark on further steps towards consolidation of the region. Although clear progress has been recorded over recent years in respect of co-operation within the Hamburg metropolitan region, structural limits exist which cannot be overcome. This article present a critical appraisal of achievements to date and outlines perspectives for the future development of the Hamburg metropolitan region.

In the course of up-dating the State Development Plan for the federal state of Thuringia, and against the backdrop of dwindling populations and improvements in accessibility, the decision was taken to overhaul the “central-place” concept introduced in 1993. Drawing on accessibility analyses based on private-car use, the future population potentials of so-called “higher-order centres” have been recalculated in order to gauge the long-term significance of such centres for spatial planning within the state. In the light of current levels of infrastructure endowment and capacity utilisation, the authors are able to proceed to formulating recommendations for a future system of “central places” which strives to mediate between blanket supply and economic viability. The current and anticipated shortcomings thus revealed in respect of accessibility provide important pointers toward the types of supplementary structure-policy measures which the state will need to adopt in the future.