Urban redevelopment in the inner-city
(Saarland)
Source: Stadt Völklingen
The town of Völklingen (pop. 40,000) used to be one of the important steel locations in Germany. Impressive evidence of the town's industrial past is the Völklinger Ironworks, which has been awarded the status of a World Cultural Heritage by UNESCO. The close proximity of the inner-city to the Völklinger Ironworks as the largest employer has impacts on the supply of retail, services and housing in the inner-city. The loss of more than 12,000 steel jobs has resulted in the collapse of the inner-city, which is expressed in the high level of vacant retail and residential sites in the so-called inner-city triangle. At the same time, an above-average proportion of migrants, transfer benefit recipients and young people live in the inner-city. The consequences of the structural change in the steel industry have led to the high level of vacant retail and residential sites in the Völklingen inner-city. The town of Völklingen has reacted to these functional losses with gradual, successive design work. In view of this problem, design-related preparatory work for urban redevelopment started in 2001 with the general urban master plan and in 2003 with the Integrated Action Concept Inner-city. The realisation of measures started with the inclusion of the town in the ExWoSt research project Stadtumbau West and since then has been continued in stages.
Source: Stadt Völklingen
The potential of the World Cultural Heritage status for the "Völklinger Ironworks was worked out in the Industriekultur master plan. The Integrated Action Concept Inner-city concretised these design concepts in 2003. It aims to concentrate the supply of retail, gastronomy and office space in the so-called inner-city triangle and to adjust residential buildings to specific target groups. The concentration and adjustment are supported by measures in the public space that increase the attractiveness and which serve to strengthen the inner-city as an economic and housing location.
Since then, many measures from the inner-city concept have been realised. For example, the so-called Pfarrgarten has been redesigned and expanded into an attractive public space with a stage for open-air events. Since the redesign in 2005 there have been weekly, well-attended concerts every summer. The demolition of the furniture store Storch was a further step towards making the public space more attractive. In 2007, its demolition space - after temporary use as a "city beach" - became an attractive square with surrounding restaurants.
Because of their identifying function, the renovation of five Jugendstil buildings on Rathausstrasse has drawn particular attention to the urban redevelopment of the Völklinger inner-city. The renovation of the buildings, which stand as a testament to an important epoch for Völklingen, was undertaken with great commitment. As the private owners of the buildings could not be persuaded to make any investments, even with funding from the Städtebauförderung (urban development funds), and as other investment solutions failed, Stadtentwicklungsgesellschaft Völklingen (SEV) was founded in 2006. Apart from the town, the shareholders of SEV are a local bank and the local utilities company. SEV has been able to purchase and extensively renovate three of the five buildings. Since the completion of the buildings in late 2007, the offices, medical practices and apartments have been fully let. The buildings have been perceived as a symbol of the upgrading of the inner-city. In addition, the town of Völklingen purchased the old Kaufhof building, which had been empty for some time, in late 2006 and after a partial demolition, new possible uses should be opened up for retail in the long-term as a result of the reduction of the entire building.
Source: Stadt Völklingen
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 2001 | Creation of the master plan Industriekultur |
| 2002 | Inclusion of Völklingen in the ExWoSt research project Stadtumbau West |
| 2003 | Completion of the Integrated Action Concept Inner-city |
| 2005 | Completion of the inner-city plan |
| 2005 | Completion of the redesign of the Pfarrgarten |
| 2006 | Demolition of the Storch furniture store |
| 2006 | Foundation of the urban development company Stadtentwicklungsgesellschaft |
| 2007 | Redesign of the square behind the old town hall |
| 2007 | Renovation of four Jugendstil buildings on Rathausstrasse |
Source: Stadt Völklingen
Source: GIU mbH, Saarbrücken
Source: GIU mbH, Saarbrücken
Many inner-cities in shrinking areas are suffering from considerably inner-city and functional deficits. In Völklingen, the focus was on development strategies which facilitate the enhancement of the quality of the inner-city under very difficult shrinking conditions. As a result, activities were developed in order to concentrate the retail areas geographically, which reduced the large structures that negatively characterised the image of the town. Through selective demolition, new attractive public space has been created. The foundation of a public-private development company as an instrument of the redevelopment of important old buildings represents another innovative instrument in the urban redevelopment.
Source: Stadt Völklingen
The project location can be directly translated into Google-maps. Project in Google-Maps
The projekt site ist to be found at postal code: 66333 - town: Völklingen - street: Rathausstraße / Alte Schulstraße.
Record inserted on 23.08.2009 by the Federal Institute for Research on Building, Urban Affairs and Spatial Development (BBSR) within the Federal Office for Building and Regional Planning (BBR).
Last update: 30.10.2009
