Where people live together, things take shape and ideas for the future are born. It’s about being together and for each other. Cities and municipalities have always been a space for the expression of this creative force, they are witnesses of a millennial development of coexistence in densely populated areas. This is particularly true for urban centers and urban centres.
Attractive urban centers and urban centers are the “calling card” of a city or municipality. They assume network functions in several respects. This is where people and companies meet and exchange ideas. Customers and buyers find goods and services. Companies find workers as well as creative and innovative minds. Tourists visit monuments, restaurants and public spaces. These are also a constitutive feature of the political expression of opinion, rallies and protests: seeing and being seen or hearing and being heard are important functions of urban centres.
A change in city centers and inner cities was not only evident after the corona pandemic, with many challenges for all stakeholders. Consumption is no longer the main reason for visiting. Mixed-use centers are in demand which combine a high quality of living with attractive shops, gastronomic offerings, inner city living, culture, education and leisure activities. This requires cities and municipalities capable of taking action.
However, there are no patented solutions that can be applied to all urban and urban centers. Rather, individual solutions for the development of inner cities have to be found. The following examples show a wide range of individual concepts and municipal approaches.
Of enormous importance is the design of the process and the integration of the many actors, even new ones. The question that needs to be answered on site in each individual case is which uses and business models are the right ones at the respective location? There are also good examples of this in this publication.
Furthermore, it is also important to address the issue of connection and mobility in urban centers and centres. Pure accessibility is only one aspect. How can the trend reversal of mobility in inner cities and centers be successful with a view to logistics, electric mobility or non-motorized forms of mobility? All of these are issues that must not be considered separately, but must be brought together and reconciled.
This publication offers many examples of this, which I hope will encourage imitation. We hope you enjoy reading.
