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Neighbourhood Improvement Districts in Germany – A new Form of Urban Governance for the Improvement of Residential Areas (3053)

Frank Friesecke and Silja Lockemann (Germany)
Mr. Frank Friesecke
University of Bonn
Nussallee 1
Bonn
53115
Germany
 
Corresponding author Mr. Frank Friesecke (email: friesecke[at]uni-bonn.de, tel.: +49 228 733707)
 

[ abstract ] [ handouts ] [ handouts ]

Published on the web 2008-03-21
Received 2008-01-31 / Accepted 2008-03-14
This paper is one of selection of papers published for the FIG Working Week 2008 in Stockholm, Sweden and has undergone the FIG Peer Review Process.

FIG Working Week 2008
ISBN 978-87-90907-67-9 ISSN 2307-4086
http://www.fig.net/resources/proceedings/fig_proceedings/fig2008/index.htm

Abstract

Over the past years a noticeable increase of involvement by the private sector and by the citizenry has been observed in urban development in Germany. Public private partnerships (PPP), in the form of urban initiatives such as business improvement districts (BID), for example, are the most common forms. Due to the success of these co-operations between the public and private sector, the government ratified a new “Act Facilitating Planning Projects for Inner Urban Development” in 2007 to implement these private initiatives also in residential areas. These so-called neighbourhood improvement districts (NID) are defined as a residential area in which property owners make a collective contribution to stabilize and improve their residential district. NIDs typically include capital improvements like housing, park and public space enhancements and provide services such as supplementary safety and security or the development of a marketing concept for the district. The article describes the current NID debate in the Federal Republic of Germany and outlines the improvements and services a NID is specifically enabled to undertake under German Law. In addition, the article exemplifies the trends and expectations associated with the establishment of NIDs in Germany by addressing the following questions: how NID activities affect the local real estate market and whether their strategies promote sustainable urban development in residential areas in the long term.
 
Keywords: Land management; Spatial planning; Urban renewal; Real estate development; Business Improvement Districts; Governance; Legal Foundations; Neighbourhood Improvement Districts; Private Initiative; Public Private Partnership; Residential Development

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