Successful neighbourhood management is not only the fruit of municipal measures, but is also a product of Land -level initiatives. Detailed programme guidelines should include the proviso that neighbourhood management should be pursued at all levels of control and action relevant to integrated district development. Tips on financing options and various applications of this new policy instrument can be supportive.
Involving politics
The success of neighbourhood management schemes depends not only on their organization and format, but to a large extent on whether politicians endorse integrated action plans and these new cooperation and management tools. Municipal legislation empowers the whole neighbourhood development process. The substantive involvement of local political leaders during the process at all management levels is a further key pre-condition for the viability of neighbourhood management. If (municipal) politicians interpret the founding of such grassroots structures as jeopardizing their own authority, a climate of rivalry and mutual obstruction may impair partnerships and support: "A strong political influence on the renewal process is counterproductive if existing local structures are dominated by authoritarians who are not interested in genuine partnerships. The result is undesirable competition between elected officials and local campaigners".(1) Sociopolitical integration alone can foster real co-determination "in the shadow of the hierarchy" of town councils and other local political bodies. The impact of municipal politics is illustrated in Hannover-Vahrenheide's final report: "The role of politics in the renewal process was and remains central. Vahrenheide would never have been the subject of redevelopment projects for so many years without persevering pressure from assertive municipal and borough politicians".(2) Developments in North Rhine-Westphalia reveal that municipal political integration cannot "happen by chance". "Political support must be solicited and nurtured. The concept of "integrated district renewal" is difficult to advocate because of the high complexity of the approach and can be hard for non-initiates to assess comprehensively. Local politicians must be apprised of the issues and stakes in their constituencies and become directly involved. Guaranteeing a regular flow of information to local politicians is crucial". (3)
Some onsite support teams in pilot districts particularly emphasize the value of cooperation with local political bodies (e.g. in Bremen-Gröpelingen and Ludwigshafen-Westend). They less frequently report participation of politicians in district forums or targeted neighbourhood events. For example the onsite team in Kottbusser Tor in Berlin-Kreuzberg bemoans that "municipal politicians have been conspicuously absent from committees set up by neighbourhood managers and local agencies".(4)
The involvement of municipal leaders in the neighbourhood development process in pilot districts is graded variously. The Nordstadt Roundtable Project in Kassel demands more direct exchange with and a greater presence of local politicians in neighbourhood work.(5) On the other hand, Ludwigshafen-Westend reports that "in general, politicians have shown a great deal of interest in Socially Integrative City",(6) and the exchange between neighbourhood managers and politicians evidently works effectively in Hamburg-Altona-Lürup.(7) The onsite team in Neunkirchen-Innenstadt concludes that political backing for integrative, cooperative processes and the flow of information to the municipal council need improving (8). The Sachsendorf-Madlow response praises the Cottbus mayor, who has put Socially Integrative City on his own agenda.(9)
Communication forms and decision-making powers
Effective communication processes between and at all three levels (interface management), namely permanent links between executive and legislative decision-makers and the grassroots level, are a fundamental prerequisite for the success of district projects. The absence of such liaison endangers the compromises so painstakingly agreed in the neighbourhood, damaging the credibility of renewal efforts and reducing residents' future commitment. Rapport also plays a crucial role in effective implementation of integrated district development schemes, irrespective of the regulatory and organizational environment. The personalities involved and their intra- and inter-level chemistry is decisive.(10) It is essential for everyone involved in the process to demonstrate a clearly stated dedication to common neighbourhood management objectives.
This is immediately obvious for cooperation among planning and social services (in the broadest sense): the urban planning, construction and housing and urban renewal sectors are automatically involved in Socially Integrative City as an urban development scheme. At the same time, social science professionals (e.g. youth welfare officers, social providers or other welfare workers) demand more influence in programme implementation, citing their traditional responsibility for neighbourhood management duties. One way to solve this conundrum is to share management between agencies dealing with town planning and those specializing in social policy . This "tandem solution" is a step in the "right" direction, and was practised in Hesse, where district bureaus were staffed by a specialist from both the planning and welfare sectors. Flensburg-Neustadt pursued the same direction at the end of 2001.(11)
The success of neighbourhood management, in particular at intermediate and local levels, also depends on sufficient leverage to make things happen. The relevant committees should be entrusted with the powers and resources to take their own decisions and implement ideas immediately. This will not happen unless all branches of government devolve responsibilities to district level, although such a shift in the balance of power must entail the authorization of district bodies to allocate contingency funds.
Qualification and training of neighbourhood managers
Players entrusted with onsite management of a neighbourhood must demonstrate exceptionally good communicative and organizational skills to match their expertise in the planning or social sector. They must also exhibit mediating and moderating knowledge, familiarity with district and neighbourhood populations and with municipal government practice, expertise in planning and/or community work, experience with public funds and funding procedures, fundraising, financing and resource pooling, knowledge of public relations and leadership qualities: budgeting time, building and leading teams, motivating oneself and others.
Bearing in mind the multifarious and complex tasks associated with neighbourhood management and its increasing importance, some institutions (including the Fachhochschule Köln, the Evangelische Fachhochschule für Sozialpädagogik Hamburg, the LAG Soziale Brennpunkte Hessen e.V. in cooperation with the Fachhochschulen Hessen and the Evangelische Fortbildungsstätte Burckhardthaus e.V., and the Studieninstitut für kommunale Verwaltung Sachsen-Anhalt) now offer appropriate further training courses and (part-time) study programmes.
Long-term continuity
Neighbourhood management is not a tool for finding short-term solutions to partial district problems, but represents a fundamentally new, process-based approach to and action programme for the sustainable development and stabilization of disadvantaged neighbourhoods. This raises the question of a realistic time frame, a sensible and desirable duration for public funding schemes, and the issue of whether this approach needs a long-term institutional framework: "The success of integrated district renewal in Bismarck/Schalke-Nord depends largely on the dedicated work of district managers. The plan to maintain the level of development reached is at risk if neighbourhood management, which was deliberately set up as a temporary structure, terminates at some point, creating a gaping "coordination vacuum" in the programme district."(12) This may mean that organizations and personnel, originally launched for a limited period to install self-reliant structures, end up draining public funds much longer than projected.
(1) Institut für Landes- und Stadtentwicklungsforschung des Landes Nordrhein-Westfalen, Analyse der Umsetzung des Handlungsprogramms, p. 50.
(2) Geiling/Schwarzer/Heinzelmann/Bartnick, p. 125.
(3) Institut für Landes- und Stadtentwicklungsforschung des Landes Nordrhein-Westfalen, Analyse der Umsetzung des Handlungsprogramms, p. 50.
(4) Beer/Musch, p. 122.
(5) Mussel/Kreisl, p. 63.
(6) Schröder/Werth, p. 66.
(7) Breckner/Herrmann/Gonzales, p. 95.
(8) Jacob/Herz/Mazak/Pauly, p. 74.
(9) Knorr-Siedow/Jahnke/Trostorff, p. 71.
(10) Cf. also: Institut für Landes- und Stadtentwicklungsforschung des Landes Nordrhein-Westfalen, Analyse der Umsetzung des Handlungsprogramms, p. 32.
(11) Frinken/Rake/Schreck, p. 89.
(12) Austermann/Ruiz/Sauter, p. 94.
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
