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Federal-Länder Programme "Socially Integrative City"

In 1999 the federal and Land governments extended urban development support by adopting the "Districts With Special Development Needs – the Socially Integrative City" programme (or Socially Integrative City for short). Its goal was to counteract the widening socio-spatial rifts in the cities. The programme fosters participation and cooperation and represents a new integrative political approach to urban district development.

Further information:

• Translation of parts of the final report of the initial implementation phase (autumn 1999 to autumn 2003): German Institute of Urbans Affairs (ed.), Socially Integrative City Strategies, Berlin 2003, commissioned by the Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Housing (BMVBW)
• Translation of parts of the three-year appraisal: German Institute of Urbans Affairs (ed.), Socially Integrative City, an initial appraisal of the federal/Länder programme "Districts with Special Development Needs - The Socially Integrative City, Berlin 2002, commissioned by the Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Housing (BMVBW) for the congress "Die Soziale Stadt - Zusammenhalt, Sicherheit, Zukunft" in Berlin, 7-8 May 2002.

Programme documents

The main programme documents are the Guideline for Implementation of the Joint Socially Integrative City Initiative, devised by the Länder, the annual administrative agreements between the federal and Land governments, and many other publications and regulations of the Länder.

Fields of activity

The integrative approach of Socially Integrative City is reflected in the fact that measures and projects are realized in all policy areas and often cover more than one policy area at the same time. Realization of measures and projects in substantive activity areas of Socially Integrative City demands the establishment of effective coordination and efficient management of multilateral participation in instrumental-strategic fields of activity.

Strategic fields of activity

• Integrated action plans
  Integrated Action Plans, translated from: Soziale Stadt - info 6, German Institute of Urbans Affairs (Difu), october 2001, p. 2-6
  Integrated Action Plans: Länder stipulations, translated from: Soziale Stadt - info 6, German Institute of Urbans Affairs (Difu), october 2001, p. 7-10
  Integrated action plans - a tool for controlling and coordinating social development in urban districts, Heidede Becker, Christa Böhme, Ulrike Meyer, translated from the final report "Socially Integrative City Strategies" of the initial implementation phase (autumn 1999 to autumn 2003), German Institute of Urban Affairs (ed.), Berlin 2003, commissioned by the Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Housing (BMVBW)
• Neighbourhood management
  Neighbourhood management - a critical tool for integrative district development, Thomas Franke, translated from the final report "Socially Integrative City Strategies" of the initial implementation phase (autumn 1999 to autumn 2003), German Institute of Urban Affairs (ed.), Berlin 2003, commissioned by the Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Housing (BMVBW)
• Activation and Participation
  Activation and Participation as Part of Socially Integrated City, translated from: Soziale Stadt - info 7, German Institute of Urbans Affairs (Difu), february 2002, p. 2-6
  Soziale Stadt, Info 14, The newsletter devoted to the federal-Land Socially Integrative City programme, October 2003
  Activation and participation, Thomas Franke, translated from the final report "Socially Integrative City Strategies" of the initial implementation phase (autumn 1999 to autumn 2003), German Institute of Urban Affairs (ed.), Berlin 2003, commissioned by the Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Housing (BMVBW)
• Evaluation
• Monitoring

Substantive activity areas

• Employment
• Qualifications and training
• Accumulation of neighbourhood assets
  The Local Economy - a Central Socially Integrative City Strategy, Cathy Cramer, Jan Behrens, translated from: Soziale Stadt - info 5, German Institute of Urbans Affairs (Difu), july 2001, p. 2-7
• Social activities and social infrastructure
• Schools and education
  School and Education, Christa Böhme, Heidede Becker, Ulrike Meyer, Ulla-Kristina Schuleri-Hartje, Wolf-Christian Strauss, translated from the final report "Socially Integrative City Strategies" of the initial implementation phase (autumn 1999 to autumn 2003), German Institute of Urban Affairs (ed.), Berlin 2003, commissioned by the Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Housing (BMVBW)
• Health promotion
  Health Promotion - Key Integrated Urban District Development Topic, Christa Böhme and Ulla-Kristina Schuleri-Hartje, translated from: Soziale Stadt - info 11, German Institute of Urbans Affairs (Difu), march 2003, p. 2-8
  Health Promotion, Christa Böhme, Heidede Becker, Ulrike Meyer, Ulla-Kristina Schuleri-Hartje, Wolf-Christian Strauss, translated from the final report "Socially Integrative City Strategies" of the initial implementation phase (autumn 1999 to autumn 2003), German Institute of Urban Affairs (ed.), Berlin 2003, commissioned by the Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Housing (BMVBW)
• Transport and the environment
• Urban district culture
  District Culture, Ulrike Meyer and Ulla Schuleri-Hartje, translated from: Soziale Stadt - info 10, German Institute of Urbans Affairs (Difu), december 2002, p. 2-7
  District Culture, Christa Böhme, Heidede Becker, Ulrike Meyer, Ulla-Kristina Schuleri-Hartje, Wolf-Christian Strauss, translated from the final report "Socially Integrative City Strategies" of the initial implementation phase (autumn 1999 to autumn 2003), German Institute of Urban Affairs (ed.), Berlin 2003, commissioned by the Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Housing
• Sports and recreation
• Integration of diverse social and ethnic groups
  Integrating Immigrants into Districts, Dr. rer. soc. Bettina Reimann, Dipl.-Volksw. Ulla Schuleri-Hartje, translated from: Soziale Stadt - info 17, German Institute of Urbans Affairs (Difu), september 2005, p. 2-8
• Housing market and housing industry
• Living environment and public space
• Image improvement and public relations
  Image improvement and public relations, Christa Böhme, Heidede Becker, Ulrike Meyer, Ulla-Kristina Schuleri-Hartje, Wolf-Christian Strauss, translated from the final report "Socially Integrative City Strategies" of the initial implementation phase (autumn 1999 to autumn 2003), German Institute of Urban Affairs (ed.), Berlin 2003, commissioned by the Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Housing
• Community Living in the Districts
  Community Living in the Districts, Christa Böhme, Heidede Becker, Ulrike Meyer, Ulla-Kristina Schuleri-Hartje, Wolf-Christian Strauss, translated from the final report "Socially Integrative City Strategies" of the initial implementation phase (autumn 1999 to autumn 2003), German Institute of Urban Affairs (ed.), Berlin 2003, commissioned by the Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Housing

Realization of measures and projects in all fields of activity and walks of life also involves mergers of women’s and men’s interests (gender mainstreaming).

Programme support

Implementation of the complex and ambitious Socially Integrative City programme requires a great deal of experience sharing, knowledge transfer, cooperation and PR work. That is why the Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Affairs (BMVBS), represented by the Federal Office for Building and Regional Planning (BBR), commissioned the German Institute of Urban Affairs (Difu) to support the programme for the initial implementation phase (autumn 1999 to autumn 2003). Central elements were setting up a nationwide network, providing onsite programme support in the 16 Socially Integrative City pilot districts and designing a programme evaluation system.

Programme support elements

The founding of the "Socially Integrative City" exchange in December 2003 has ensured the continuation and further development of nationwide sharing of information and experience between all players and participants in the scheme.