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The focal point of this paper is changes of specific patterns of governance in urban renewal processes in mid-sized cities in East Germany. The starting point of the investigation includes assumptions and first findings that indicate that urban shrinkage necessarily leads to a change and diversification of patterns of governance. Using case studies as a base, this paper examines urban governance in the German cities of Bernburg and Weissenfels. Both cities are affected by shrinkage and both participated in the 2010 International Building Exhibition: Urban Redevelopment Saxony-Anhalt, which was aimed at finding qualifications for urban redevelopment processes. In order to analyze governance within the processes of urban renewal for both case studies, schemes of governance analysis were created to examine the planning processes, institutional influences, stakeholders, and their interactions. The paper concludes that, due to specific framework conditions of urban shrinkage on one hand, and institutional influences on the other, patterns of governance do indeed change over the course of urban redevelopment processes. In both cities, the predominating sovereign approach to urban development was supplemented with cooperative activities. In Bernburg, an extensive cooperation among three stakeholders of the public sector was realized. Changes in Weissenfels included the implementation of enhanced participation for private stakeholders. English title: Urban Governance in Urban Redevelopment Processes in Mid-Sized East German Cities: Patterns of Governance in Urban Redevelopment Processes Using the IBA Cities of Bernburg and Weissenfels as Case Studies [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent discussions on urban governance regularly emphasize a trend towards an “entrepreneurialization” which is said to be reflected in a growing importance of local and regional scales, an increased relevance of partnerships and the strategic positioning of localities in an environment of intensified place-competition. Building a case study in six medium-sized German cities that are characterized by economic losses and population decline, the article discusses different trajectories of local governance. First, it shows that the actual modes of local governance gain importance. Second, it shows that the actual local modes of governance are fairly different among the cases studied. Therefore, many localities are more dependent on resources from the national government than on private investment, lending more significance to public-public cooperation than to public-private cooperation. Third, the paper argues that the ability to implement long-term local development strategies is severely complicated by a dependence on external resources. As a consequence, short-term project-orientation prevails in the majority of cases. The paper focuses on these different experiences and discusses implications for the analysis of urban governance in peripheralized cities and regions. English Title: Governance and Peripheralization – experiences and approaches in six mid-sized German cities [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

How does an average, aging society deal with the challenges of climatic and demographic change? In reality, the effects vary regionally. This paper explores how an urban society responds to the challenge of increasing summer temperatures using the example of Aachen, a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. The research started with the perception of heat in the working and living environment of older and thus particularly vulnerable residents. As actors of urban development actively influence living and working conditions, their projected need for action is compared to the results of a survey of the residents. It clearly showed that demographic, socio-cultural, spatial, and construction factors affected the perceptions of the residents. Climate change awareness and possible adaptation measures usually exist, but, in general, initiatives are only taken if the effect is noticed by an individual. Although not all residents and stakeholders of Aachen perceived heat waves as a problem, a variety of adaptation strategies could be established. They ranged from aspired lifestyle over individual and short-term behavioral changes to urban planning, architectural and technical measures. These measures can be used to raise awareness of climate issues and implement adaptation strategies. Thereby, all stakeholders and residents, employers and employees, homeowners and tenants, planners, architects and developers, investors and users, etc., are asked to take responsibility within their field. English title: Adjustment through Acceptance – The Approach of Local Actors to Summer Heat Waves [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we use data from a longitudinal study to draw a realistic picture of the housing conditions and future potential of large housing estates with a focus on demographic change. In doing so, we plead for a broader look at demographic dynamics: going beyond ageing and population loss to encompass changes of household size and compositions or diverse mobility patterns. Our empirical results, generated in the large housing estate of Leipzig-Grünau in eastern Germany, show huge changes in the demographic characteristics of estate residents within just 30 years, especially faster aging, a steep decline in household size, and a rapidly growing share of one-person households. Years of outmigration have caused a massive overall population loss that only recently came to a halt. Nevertheless, we are also able to provide evidence that a wide range of demographic groups still live in this estate and appreciate the living conditions in terms of housing, service facilities and recreation areas. The changes in household and age structures produce particular housing demands (appropriate apartments and services), which could be broadly satisfied within the large housing estate due to existing diverse residential offers for various housing needs. In conclusion, we argue that large housing estates have an important but underestimated potential to meet housing demand under the conditions of demographic change. Furthermore, the demographic challenges discussed here can be seen as important for other residential areas too. English title: Large Housing Estates as a Flexible Space for Demographic Change – Selected results of a long-term study of the large housing estates of Leipzig-Grünau focusing on the potential of an underestimated type of neighborhood [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Border regions have to overcome substantial locational disadvantages in order to have a stake in the competition of regions and to achieve an ordered economically and socially stable and future-oriented development in terms of spatial planning. A peripheral location often brings barriers and potential risks for further development in border regions. However, it may also provide opportunities – based on the clever and comprehensive utilisation of all endogenous potentials. The region Bodensee-Oberschwaben, as part of the tri-national Bodensee region D-A-CH (Germany-Austria-Switzerland) is on its way to successfully dealing with impediments resulting from its location at the border: dividing elements such as the large Lake of Constance, the Alps and the relatively long distances to the administrative centers in Stuttgart and Berlin, are overcome in the sense of a de-peripheralization. In conjunction with other regions of a similar structure and with corresponding directions of development, the region is positioning itself in a “Network of European Spaces”, which works in addition to metropolitan Region-approaches. This paper analyzes and describes why and how regions succeed in stepping out of their peripheral location. English Title: Peripheries Don't Have to Remain Peripheries. De-peripheralization in the Bodensee-Oberschwaben Region [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

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In the biosphere reserves of Schorfheide Chorin and Spreewald, Fed. State of Brandenburg, Germany, actually a program for the monitoring of the ecosystems is going to be installed, according to the MAB criteria. Our working group is concerned with the monitoring of the farmland, grassland and peats (natural fens and drained peats). In this paper we present the selected ecosystem -- landuse -- combinations of the peats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]