Incentive to act: sociospatial division in towns and cities
Economic and social upheaval leaves social inequality in its wake, particularly in the areas (1) of work (compulsion to take temporary or low-paid jobs, unemployment), interpersonal relationships (loss of supportive social networks, isolation) and welfare rights (impeded access to facilities, institutions and an acceptable standard of living). This social inequality also varies from district to district. It manifests itself in deep-seated sociospatial structural change, which results in increasing fragmentation with upwardly and downwardly mobile urban districts (sociospatial segregation). (2) Cuts in council housing construction, elimination of social housing obligations through repayment of public funds and privatization and the further liberalization of the housing market have widened the gap between the growing number of people receiving transfer payments (unemployment benefit and social security) and the drastic fall in affordable housing.
Dependent on land prices and availability, rent levels, milieus and images, cities are increasingly dichotomizing into low-income, socially disadvantaged neighbourhoods and privileged areas. In addition, demographic trends have a spatially selective impact and increase the segregation effect. Households with the available means move away from disadvantaged areas, either in the interests of their children because of the critical situation in schools and in general, or to escape the generally tense atmosphere in the district. "School segregation" is becoming an increasingly serious threat to urban cultural and social integration. (3)
The population in disadvantaged districts is affected by various exclusion processes, which sometimes compound each other. (4) "Economically, because they have no access to the labour market; institutionally, because insurmountable barriers spring up between them and political or public welfare organizations; culturally, if stigmatization and discrimination lead to a loss of self-confidence and moral integrity ...; and socially, if social isolation and life in a closed milieu destroy the links to 'normal society'."
Children and young people develop a "deviant culture", as their environment offers them few positive role models and representatives of a "normal" life, and they no longer see the point of schooling, training and career. On the contrary, they engage in "negative social learning". Many urban districts are tarred with a negative image which can lead to stigmatization. The more derelict these areas become, the more disadvantaging their effects are, aggravating their peripheral social position, if nothing else.
In the last 20 years or so, urban districts largely isolated from macrosocietal and metropolitan developments have evolved across Germany. These areas are breeding grounds for disadvantage and detriment. This impairs living conditions, curtails opportunities and dampens the neighbourhood mood and social climate. (5)
Main goal: checking and reversing the "downward spiral"
If the neighbourhoods were left to their own devices, without public intervention, the downward trend in the urban districts would spiral. These processes are self-perpetuating unless they are interrupted by concerted efforts from politicians, local councillors, residents, businesspeople and other locally active players. We hope that Socially Integrative City will now prompt revitalization and development processes, draft and implement concepts for integrative measures and mobilize local self-help resources. The pooling of funds from different programmes and departments, increased consideration of non-investment approaches and exploration of new administrative and management structures are designed to consolidate existing resources for comprehensive and integrated urban district development and apply funds more accurately, efficiently and flexibly. The federal government intends the programme to set "new urban development policy trends" and "aims to link urban planning measures with schemes from other policy areas more closely than has been the case to date". (6)
The ARGEBAU (7) Guideline for Implementation of the Joint Socially Integrative City Initiative plays a key role in programme application. It formulates goals (in the fields of citizen participation/district life, local economy, work and employment, neighbourhood centres, social, cultural, educational and recreational infrastructure, housing, habitat and environment) and methodological and procedural guidelines for programme implementation, (interdisciplinary approach, legal instruments, use of funds, exchange of experiences, performance monitoring and concomitant research). The administrative agreement on federal allocation of financial assistance to the Lnder, (8) which has to be renewed annually, codifies these guidelines during programme implementation.
The overall objective is to use the programme to improve the actual housing and living conditions (predominantly through investment in construction measures and projects), to increase residents' personal opportunities (by imparting qualifications, skills and knowledge, creating openings in the labour and housing markets and helping people to help themselves) and to boost the district's image, local profile and neighbourhood identification (via specific stabilization and revitalization measures). To this end, the following integrative goals (in the broadest sense) are pursued.
Identifying appropriate districts is a prerequisite for application of Socially Integrative City funds. This derives from the logic and tradition of urban planning promotion, as well as from the goal of tackling problems and potential directly in the spatial living environment. Less mobile groups of the population who are acutely dependent on the district and its social fabric, facilities and institutions tend to congregate in Socially Integrative City neighbourhoods. This raises the importance of the neighbourhood as a "resource for coping with life". Identifying appropriate districts is a prerequisite for application of Socially Integrative City funds. This derives from the logic and tradition of urban planning promotion, as well as from the goal of tackling problems and potential directly in the spatial living environment. Less mobile groups of the population who are acutely dependent on the district and its social fabric, facilities and institutions tend to congregate in Socially Integrative City neighbourhoods. This raises the importance of the neighbourhood as a .resource for coping with life.. The spatial dimension is generally perceived to be the product of physical conditions, a site of experiences and learning processes, a matrix with orientation, symbolization, identification, reception and utilization functions and hence .a status indicator and a focus of social self-definition.. (12) The spatial dimension is generally perceived to be the product of physical conditions, a site of experiences and learning processes, a matrix with orientation, symbolization, identification, reception and utilization functions and hence "a status indicator and a focus of social self-definition". (13)
Orientation on the locality and the fact that the programme alone cannot solve the revealed problems highlights the need to reinforce neighbourhood strategies with citywide projects. This primarily applies to issues of education and employment policy, housing policy and social and cultural infrastructure.
(1) For more details on this and the following, cf. Martin Kronauer, "Die neue soziale Frage: Armut und Ausgrenzung in der Großstadt heute", Walther (ed.), pp. 47 ff.
(2) On the background and causes leading to the evolution of districts with special development needs and on the programme's grounding in political reform
approaches, cf. Thomas Franke, Rolf-Peter Löhr and Robert Sander, "Soziale Stadt - Stadterneuerungspolitik als Stadtpolitikerneuerung", Archiv für Kommunalwissenschaften, 2nd biannual volume (2000) (german), pp. 244 ff.
(3) Hartmut Häußermann, "Global, lokal, sozial. Die Unteilbarkeit der Stadt", Walther (ed.), p. 78.
(4) For more details on this and the following, see Hartmut Häußermann, "Die Krise der 'sozialen Stadt'", Aus Politik und Zeitgeschichte, Beilage zur Wochenzeitung Das Parlament, Vol. 10-11 (2000), p. 13. (german)
(5) Cf. Chapter 3, Special Development Needs - Socially Integrative City Programme Districts.
(6) Krautzberger/Richter, p. 37.
(7) ARGEBAU, and Urban Planning Panel of the Housing Committee, , Leitfaden der Gemeinschaftsinitiative "Soziale Stadt", Zweite Fassung vom 1. Februar 2000 (vgl. Guideline for the joint Socially Integrative City initiative, 2nd edition of 1 February 2000 (see Appendix 9, p. ...) (german)).
(8) See text of the 2002 administrative agreement in Appendix 11.
(9) See also Chapter 7, "Neighbourhood Management" and Chapter 8 "Mobilization and Participation".
(10) See also Chapter 4 "Integrative Action Plans".
(11) See also Chapter 6 "Cooperation and Coordination - Resource Pooling (German)"
(12) See also Ulfert Herlyn et al., quoted in Barbara Lang, "Was macht eine Stadt sozial? Perspektiven für die soziale Stadt im 21. Jahrhundert", Die alte Stadt, No. 1 (2000), p. 16; see also Monika Alisch, "Stadtteilmanagement - zwischen politischer Strategie und Beruhigungsmittel", Alisch, Stadtteilmanagement. Voraussetzungen und Chancen für die soziale Stadt, Opladen 1999, p. 8.
(13) Kronauer, p. 52.
Translated from: Soziale Stadt - Strategien für die Soziale Stadt, Erfahrungen und Perspektiven – Umsetzung des Bund-Länder-Programms „Stadtteile mit besonderem Entwicklungsbedarf – die soziale Stadt", Deutsches Institut für Urbanistik 2003
