Performance and assessments of programme implementation apply to Socially Integrative City.s two central fields of intervention. The first is the implementational, instrumental-strategic aspect concerning the integrative influence of the action plans, procedures used in developing and updating them and their actual implementation, the effects of the resource pooling, the clout of organizational, cooperative and managerial structures, the impact of activating and participatory strategies and the degree of commitment displayed by local players and, last but not least, the suitability of the selected districts based on "special development needs". The second intervention area has to do with substantive Socially Integrative City issues, improvement of situations and outlooks in the district. This involves the material and physical environment in the neighbourhoods, improvement of individual opportunities and the quality of communal living and embodiments of local opinion as well as psychological changes, which result from concrete upgrades and enhancements and from aggressive public relations and image projection.
Integrated action plans
The German federal government and the Länder assign fundamental and strategic significance to the integrated action plans for implementation of ´Districts With Special Development Needs - the Socially Integrative City". This is spelled out in the administrative accord on urban development support (1999 to 2002) concluded between German federal and Land governments. "The problems of urban districts with special development needs are to be tackled with an integrative concept amounting to a holistic improvement strategy in a comprehensive bundle of targeted social and environmental infrastructure policies. ... The local authorities are to produce a long-term, integrative, district-based urban development policy action plan to support measures. The action plan (preparation and implementation model and cost and financing overview) is intended to offer targeted, integrative solutions for complex problems, feature all steps required to achieve the goals - including those of developers, builders and funding providers - and present spending estimates and means of financing." (1) This stipulation makes the fundability of a district contingent on the elaboration of an integrated urban development action plan for the neighbourhood. One important function of the plan - or at least of the policy decision to draft such a plan - is giving the Land a basis for awarding Socially Integrative City grants. The updating of the plans specified in the government accords facilitates annual review of appropriations and spending by Land award bodies.
The sceptical-to-negative attitude exhibited by municipal government programme contacts toward the control and coordination tool known as an integrated action plan at the outset of implementation has since given way to widespread approval. Assessments of experience with integrated action plans and their implementation are clearly positive in two thirds of all programme districts. Government respondents see this tool as the "necessary basis for implementing the programme". Currently 84 percent of the districts have integrated action plans in place or in the making.
Integrated action plans induce various positive programming effects. One indication of this tendency is the fact that "new package services" are primarily rendered when an integrated action plan is in effect. The drafting and updating of integrated action plans are important communications platforms. They instigate dialogue between the players and lay foundations for trustbuilding and planning reliability. Wherever integrated action plans have been adopted, cooperation between agencies has improved, according to municipal respondents.
Integrated action plans have gained sharper contours both in practice and in expert discussion, but they are still at the development stage. The results of the survey and onsite programme support in the pilot districts only allow us to make tentative statements about the quality of the plans. Existing integrated plans continue to cover a broad spectrum of approaches. They range from adoption of outmoded findings from preliminary studies covering status quo reports and analysis of problems and including commentated project outlines, through urban-planning-oriented, socially enriched master plans, to comprehensive, integrative concepts, which are based on citywide microspatial analyses with elaborate control mechanisms and detailed implementation proposals. Differences in the degree of participation of the population and onsite players are conspicuous.
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Figure 3: Components of Integrated Action Plans (n = 222, multiple answers, second survey - Difu 2002) |
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German Institute of Urban Affairs |
A grave deficit is that integrated action plans remain separate from the development policy of the whole city so that one can hardly speak of systematic integration of district policy in citywide development approaches. Success in implementing the Socially Integrative City programme will partly depend on how well district-based measures, projects, procedures and strategies can be yoked to the whole city's development policy and their citywide impact taken into consideration instead of being filtered out of the equation, as was attempted in City Renewal East.
Cooperation and resource pooling
Resource pooling in line with the Socially Integrative City Programme is a strategic approach to district-oriented application of miscellaneous resources. The programme is designed to pool resources from various departments and private enterprises and channel the money, know-how and commitment needed from these sources into the areas concerned to implement both investment and non-investment measures. The BMVBW allocated DM 100 million to the programme in 1999 and again in 2000. In 2001 and 2002 the figure was DM 150 million, or about €76.7 million. From the inauguration of the programme until the end of 2002 approximately €770 million, including matching funds from the Länder and municipalities, has been invested in the scheme. The 2003 federal budget dedicates €80 million to Socially Integrative City. (2)
Resource pooling means neither unconsidered additive use of various support programmes for one district, nor the lumping of several programmes into a consolidated budget. Instead it describes coordinated action of different sponsors and coordinated application of financial and human resources from various policy areas on the basis of integrated action plans. Implementing the strategic goal of resource pooling requires harmonization of conceptualization at the federal, Land and municipal levels and with project-related work on site. It involves marrying investment and non-investment measures.
The second Difu survey showed that resources are pooled in more than 90 percent of the programme districts. However the quality and intensity of this pooling cannot be fully ascertained from the poll. Traditional urban development promotion has always attempted to apply several support strategies to the districts and to activate as many investors as possible. In the past this approach concentrated on support of measures involving investment. The second survey, however, suggests that a variety of "new pooling benefits" have been created in implementing Socially Integrative City, while the old form of pooling continues to function.
Resource pooling as practised in Socially Integrative City requires the erection of innovative, efficient organization structures in government. In many cities and towns new interagency and interdepartmental cooperation and management formats are being tested, and personnel is learning from these approaches. "Progress in interagency and interdepartmental cooperation" is cited by surveyed municipal government representatives in 70 percent of the districts as a benefit (3) of the programme. However, references are made to problems and difficulties - primarily by respondents from the pilot districts. The hurdles cited include departmental self-centredness and rivalry, which are far from being passé. Another shortcoming mentioned was tardiness in building cooperative structures to match changed decision-making powers and procedures. The question of who is to be the coordinator has not been adequately answered in the numerous interdepartmental control and steering panels which have come into existence. It appears that joint coordination by socially oriented and spatially focused organs is an advantageous approach.
In the light of the new challenge of establishing an unprecedented resident-friendly onsite presence, we deem it to be a resounding programme success that government feels it has developed greater rapport with the people in the street during the course of programme implementation. The survey indicated that this phenomenon is seen as the second-most-common benefit of the programme. It was mentioned in responses from 85 percent of districts.
The preamble to the 2002 administrative agreement states: "The federal government and the Länder coordinate and pool all available federal and Land resources and measures needed to develop urban districts to exploit synergy effects ..." Pooling resources for development projects in urban districts has proved the persistent Achilles heel impeding programme implementation. By now remarkable pooling successes have been reported. Spokespersons for 90 percent of all districts confirm that resources have been pooled - and the majority of such incidences involve pooling with programmes outside traditional urban development support. However, acquiring and coordinating these resources continues to demand substantial efforts, particularly from players acting at citywide, urban district and project levels.
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Figure 4: Levels of Resource Pooling (n = 222, multiple responses; second survey - Difu 2002) |
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German Institute of Urban Affairs |
Uncertainties about subsidies and how to apply for them remain. Almost three quarters (4) of the answers to the open question (5) requesting suggestions on how to change the programme, which were to be passed on to participating federal, Land and appropriations authorities, mention incompatible support schemes with varying timeframes and different territorial coverage or target groups, or complicated pooling procedures with a plethora of points of contact. This jives with the fact that the most frequently mentioned programme implementation problem is "limitations and stipulations on application of resources". Over 50 percent of the districts reported encountering this hurdle. Forty percent were said to face Land-level shortcomings in coordinating resources and shackling strings attached to allocations.
Housing companies are the largest private Socially Integrative City district investors. The second Difu survey reveals that slightly more than half of the districts profit from housing company investment. Like the housing companies, private property owners, who play a greater role in older communities, are also torn between short-term gain and long-term maintenance of real estate value, and between stabilizing the existing population structure and improving the area, which leads to displacement of current residents.
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Figure 5: Application of Non-Governmental Aid (n = 222, multiple responses; second survey - Difu 2002) |
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German Institute of Urban Affairs |
Neighbourhood management
Neighbourhood management is universally recognized as a key tool in performing the complex operations of integrative urban district development. However, organization, tasks and self-definitions vary. Process-oriented neighbourhood management ensures horizontally and vertically networked cooperation and management structure at government and district levels, between these levels and with all other locally relevant players. In over 80 percent of the programme districts, neighbourhood management has consequently been instituted at all three control and operation levels: government, neighbourhood and intermediate. Eighty percent of the municipal respondents assess neighbourhood management as a "success".
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Figure 6 |
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German Institute of Urban Affairs |
In Berlin, Hamburg, Hesse and North Rhine-Westphalia neighbourhood management is stressed more heavily than in the other Länder. This is reflected in particularly detailed recommendations and specifications on establishment of neighbourhood management.
There is considerable room for improvement in the interaction of the three control and operation levels. Pilot area studies exhibit this shortcoming most clearly. A major, looming dilemma for local neighbourhood management is the fact that time limits on many contracts jeopardize personnel continuity. In two thirds of the districts the contracts run for no more than three years. One half expire after only one year. Under these circumstances trust cannot be established. That takes much longer. Frequently there is a lack of suitable equipment in the onsite offices, which have proved themselves as a sine qua non of neighbourhood management. Considering the special qualifications, specifically communication and organization skills, that neighbourhood management requires, it is encouraging that several institutions now offer further training and studies in neighbourhood management.
Experience shows that serious commitment, profound personal dedication and perseverance in often very draining activity are fundamental prerequisites for the sound establishment of neighbourhood management. Many additional ingredients for success are actually formal and organizational matters. Detailed Land programme guidelines recommending implementation of neighbourhood management at all control and operation levels impinging on integrative urban district development are therefore helpful. Tips on finance options and various applications of this new instrument can be supportive. Efficient municipal-level participation can be fostered by political involvement, good communications, sufficient decision-making power, adequate qualifications and ongoing training of (local) neighbourhood managers and continuity.
Activation and Participation
Erection of stable neighbourhood social networks, organization of stakeholders on site, interlacing of local initiatives, agencies and businesses, establishment of neighbourhood participation structures and expansion of individual problem-solving scope by operating in the sphere of "activation and participation" are fundamental preconditions for breakthroughs in integrative urban district development. The pilot districts present evidence that locations with efficient neighbourhood management have the best chances of motivating people to get involved.
Administrators in three quarters of all programme districts are encouraged by "activation of previously hard-to-activate population segments". In the pilot districts there was greater scepticism about the openness of neighbourhood citizens. That indicates that efforts to energize residents must be redoubled and become more innovative. Some population segments have hardly been reached (in-migrants and their families, the long-term unemployed, senior citizens). These groups require special attention and personal contact on subjects tailored to their current predicaments. The "thresholds" for availing oneself of an opportunity, sometimes constituting real barriers, must be lowered, e.g. by offering services abounding in unpressurized communication, interaction and entertainment.
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Figure 7: Employment of Activation Techniques (n = 222, multiple answers, second survey - Difu 2002) |
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German Institute of Urban Affairs |
"Improved chances for residents to participate" was mentioned by government respondents from 90 percent of the districts as the most important benefit of the programme. But in-depth investigations in the pilot districts cast doubt on the extent to which the task forces, urban district conferences and forums, planning and future workshops really achieve neighbourhood involvement. Sometimes participatory events and strategies are only attractive to the middle class. Their formalized communication systems and routines deter and exclude population segments which act informally and spontaneously.
Willingness of civil servants and political leaders to delegate authority to citizens and local organizations has proved to be a key variable influencing activation and participation. Partial success has been achieved since more than half of all programme districts have been endowed with contingency funds, creating the wherewithal for neighbourhood players to accomplish small projects and measures swiftly and unbureaucratically. If no contingency fund is in place, it is difficult and laborious to mobilize small amounts - for example, to buy supplies and equipment or to impart knowledge and know-how to local activists. This issue is mirrored in records showing how often onsite operators claimed "logistical support" (6) dedicated to the programme and how they applied the aid. Decentralized decision-making powers and contingency funds or district budgets facilitate and stimulate neighbourhood activism. The relatively generous neighbourhood and .action. funds in Berlin have provided major impetus for civic activities. Public relations is also being employed as a means of activating people and getting them involved. Participation-oriented, two-way public relations is making strides in the programme districts.
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Figure 8: Contingency Fund Allocation Decision-Making Bodies (n = 222, multiple re-sponses; second survey - Difu 2002) |
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German Institute of Urban Affairs |
Choice of programme districts
The "special" development need justifying admission to the Socially Integrative City programme presupposes a citywide comparison. Candidates must demonstrate that they have an urgent need for support exceeding that of other districts, that their development should thus be given higher priority and that they should be favoured with available resources. The selection procedure should therefore be transparent and plausible to merit adoption as municipal policy.
The prerequisite microspatial statistics are still only available in a few cities. Indicators of low income are crucial criteria. Programme districts are much more severely affected by unemployment and reliance on welfare than the whole city they belong to.
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Figure 9: Unemployment Rate in City and District (n = 99) second survey (Difu 2002) |
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German Institute of Urban Affairs |
Some of the districts offer almost no jobs. "High unemployment and welfare dependency" as well as "deficits in housing environment" and "modernization and repair backlogs" are some of the main arguments for recognition of "special development need". Programme districts in western German Länder tend to be multicultural. Migrants comprise an average of one quarter of their population.
In demarcating programme districts, the integrative aspirations of the programme have dictated acceptance of larger territories. Decisions have taken important infrastructure into account. Schools, cultural institutions and convenient shopping centres with their catchment areas were considered. Other criteria included spatially overlapping problems. Socially Integrative City districts are on average 12 times as spacious as subdivisions in traditional urban renewal. Municipal authorities regard the boundaries of 80 percent of the programme districts as "correct", mainly because they reflect problem densities.
Central action topic areas
In rankings of specific measures and projects to improve situations and prospects in Socially Integrative City districts, construction and space management activities and social policy areas are growing closer and closer. .Living environment and public space. is the most frequently cited area of activity in the second survey, given for 81 percent of the districts, but others such as .image improvement and public relations. (77 percent), .child and youth welfare., .sports and recreation. (70 percent each) and .social activities and social infrastructure. (68 percent) aren.t far behind. The youth welfare offices responsible for Development and Opportunities for Young People in Social Hotspots (E & C) were included in a written survey that also dealt with Socially Integrative City districts. The juvenile offices give almost equal priority to youth, education, employment, housing and urban planning policies.
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Table1: Action Topics of Measures and Projects (n = 222, multiple responses; second survey - Difu 2002) |
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Measure Action Theme |
Salient Action Theme |
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|
abs. |
% |
Rank |
abs. |
% |
Rank |
|
|
Living environment and public space (security) |
180 |
81.1 |
1 |
83 |
37.4 |
1 |
|
Image and public relations |
171 |
77.0 |
2 |
72 |
32.4 |
3 |
|
Child and youth welfare |
156 |
70.3 |
3 |
66 |
29.7 |
5 |
|
Sports and recreation |
155 |
69.8 |
4 |
43 |
19.4 |
11 |
|
Social activities and social infrastructure |
151 |
68.0 |
5 |
80 |
36.0 |
2 |
|
Urban district culture |
142 |
64.0 |
6 |
49 |
22.1 |
10 |
|
Schools and education in the district |
140 |
63.1 |
7 |
63 |
28.4 |
6 |
|
Integration of diverse social and ethnic groups |
128 |
57.7 |
8 |
70 |
31.5 |
4 |
|
Qualifications and training |
124 |
55.9 |
9 |
58 |
26.1 |
7 |
|
Employment |
121 |
54.5 |
10 |
50 |
22.5 |
9 |
|
Local housing market and housing industry |
119 |
53.6 |
11 |
51 |
23.0 |
8 |
|
Transport |
118 |
53.2 |
12 |
22 |
9.9 |
12 |
|
Environment |
94 |
42.3 |
13 |
12 |
5.4 |
14 |
|
Family services |
91 |
41.0 |
14 |
9 |
4.1 |
15 |
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Senior citizen services |
74 |
33.3 |
15 |
8 |
3.6 |
16 |
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Accumulation of neighbourhood assets |
64 |
28.8 |
16/17 |
15 |
6.8 |
13 |
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Health |
64 |
28.8 |
16/17 |
5 |
2.3 |
17 |
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Other |
2 |
0.9 |
18 |
2 |
0.9 |
18 |
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German Institute of Urban Affairs |
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Key projects have acquired particular significance for urban district development. They provide powerful stimuli for neighbourhood life and district profiles and send signals that affect the local atmosphere and mood. In the survey the existence of the issue of such projects was affirmed for almost 90 percent of programme districts. The activity area termed "living environment improvement and public space" also takes first place in the salient project list. It is followed by "social activities and social infrastructure". "Local housing market" is a distant third.
It is becoming crystal clear that still more distinct priorities should be set among the Socially Integrative City topics. This is the case with the preventive fields, "school and vocational education" and "health promotion". Schools are proving over and over again to be key institutions in the Socially Integrative City districts. They can be catalysts for overcoming social isolation of young people in a demoralizing, impoverished milieu. Scholastic language support and conflict management and dispersion of prejudice against foreign ideas and persons give students skills that create more favourable conditions for district integration. To do this, however, schools require additional support. Problem-ridden schools cause dislocation of those households which could contribute heavily to positive trends in urban districts.
"Health promotion", heretofore underemphasized in integrative urban district development, is now receiving more attention, and rightly so. Particularly services for women - including some in schools - can initiate multiplier effects, since women are the ones who most often impart decisive knowledge of activities and everyday life to families and neighbourhoods.
Boosting the local economy is the most frequently mentioned item - associated with 61 percent of all districts - but this ascribed importance is not yet reflected in specific measures and projects. "Asset accumulation in the district", which is a consequence of local economic strength, ranks a poor second. Only 29 percent of the districts have measures and projects to foster such growth. Also-rans include "improvement of employment and education" (named for 29 percent of the districts) and "commitment of private enterprise" (23 percent). Strengthening the local economy is apparently preached more than practised. Obviously channelling instruments have so far failed to route the economic promotion resources into local small business. Chambers of commerce and industry, chambers of handicrafts and job centres are still insufficiently integrated into the programme. The same applies to the local business world. We must pay more attention to social, cultural and private components of work situations in the districts and neighbourhoods.
"Motivation is a by-product of perception" was a frequently heard mantra at the Socially Integrative City Starter Conference in March 2000. This is another reason why we should not underestimate the emotional consequences of the blight and physical neglect of disadvantaged districts. Carelessly designed spaces engender careless treatment. The spatial environment is a permanent element of the "address" and a major enhanceable constituent of residents' self-confidence. Combating blight and neglect at an early stage checks the emergence of feelings of insecurity and inferiority. This is an indication of the great importance of public spaces in Socially Integrative City neighbourhoods.
The extent to which images affect perception is demonstrated by inhabitants' reports of massive feelings of insecurity in many districts, mainly mirroring subjective fears and reactions to the tarnished and distressing image and to a lesser degree reflecting exposure to alarming facts and statistics. Repolishing the current negative image of many programme areas and nurturing a positive image requires tangible improvements in the neighbourhood, accompanied by comprehensive application of aggressive public relations.
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Table 2: |
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Very negatively changed |
Negatively changed |
No change |
Improved |
Greatly improved |
No opinion |
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|
abs. |
% |
abs. |
% |
abs. |
% |
abs. |
% |
abs. |
% |
abs. |
% |
|
|
Outsiders' image of district (n = 205) |
1 |
0.5 |
10 |
4.9 |
93 |
45.4 |
69 |
33.7 |
18 |
8.8 |
14 |
6.8 |
|
Insiders' image of district (n = 204) |
- |
- |
4 |
2.0 |
45 |
22.1 |
121 |
59.3 |
22 |
10.8 |
12 |
5.9 |
|
Identification with district (n = 203) |
- |
- |
4 |
2.0 |
49 |
24.1 |
110 |
54.2 |
24 |
11.8 |
16 |
7.9 |
|
Press coverage (n = 204) |
- |
- |
7 |
3.4 |
35 |
17.2 |
113 |
55.4 |
38 |
18.6 |
11 |
5.4 |
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German Institute of Urban Affairs |
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The broad spectrum of measures designed to improve the neighbourhood image is apparently bearing fruit already. Observers of almost 80 percent of the programme districts have noted an "improved atmosphere" in the neighbourhoods, while almost 70 percent of the districts are credited with "image gains". The substantially positive estimates of public relations performance to date strongly suggest that improvement in insiders' image of and identification with the districts as well as in press coverage has been achieved for two thirds of the areas. However, respondents tended to doubt whether the image of their district held by outsiders had improved. Change for the better was attributed to only 42 percent of the territories.
(1) 2002 administrative agreement, Article 2, Paragraph 6.
(2) Stolpe: Programm "Die soziale Stadt" auf gutem Weg (Socially Integrative City on the Right Track),
press release of the German Ministry of Transport, Building and Housing, No. 112/3 of 8 April 2003
(3) The second Difu survey asked municipal government contacts to assess the successes and failures in programme implementation.
(4) 70 percent of all 175 answers
(5) Multiple choices were not given.
(6) Cf. Chapter 2.2 Onsite programme support
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
