了解德国的城市发展（下）

克劳斯 R. 昆兹曼

3.4 扎根于大自然的社会

当罗马士兵试图殖民罗马领土北部的地区时，隐藏在广阔森林中的德国部落阻止了他们的入侵。从那以后，森林对德国人而言发挥着重要作用。森林一直是封建地主和当地农民的猎场；森林提供木材以用于建造和加热房屋，生产家具和养猪。在现代，森林成为家庭和大自然爱好者的目标，他们希望观察野生动物，并在周末或暑假期间远足或骑自行车时能呼吸新鲜空气。森林是闻名世界的德国童话故事（从雪白公主和七个小矮人到汉赛尔与格莱特）的创作场景。森林在德国浪漫主义中也发挥着重要作用，德国浪漫主义是18世纪和19世纪初关于哲学、艺术和德语国家文化的主导思想运动。当时弗里德里希（C.D. Friedrich）的画作是德国人对大自然渴望的关键表现和象征。

2016年，德国被森林和林地覆盖的土地份额约为32%。由于结构性农业变化，这一份额逐年增加。48%的林地由私人拥有，4%由联邦州拥有，26%由联邦州拥有，19%主要由地方政府、教会或其他机构土地所有者掌控。有6个德国山毛榉森林甚至被列为联合国教科文组织遗产森林。

可持续概念根植于对森林和自然的高度重视，是社会关注的重点。自然保护有着悠久的传统。有两个绿色利益相关者是德国可持续发展的重要支柱，即绿党（联盟90/绿党）和德国环境及自然保护联盟（Bund Umwelt und Naturschutz Deutschland，简称BUND）——一个有影响力的非政府组织，该组织正在为自然保护和可持续环境游说。

德国社会对绿色环保的热情是1980年在西德建立绿党的关键动机。一开始，这只是反核与和平运动中由意识形态推动的运动。后来，这场运动演化成一个政党，成为该国稳固的政治力量之一。绿党代表了生态发展、自我决定、正义、大数据问题和男女平等权利的基本价值观和原则。虽然可持续性是一个相当保守的概念，但其社会目标更加自由并具有共有社会性质。1983年，当政党成功进入德国议会时，该党获得了政治上的重要地位，并且在1985年，该党的一位著名领导人Joschka Fischer成为联邦州黑森州第一位负责环境事务的绿色部长。后来他甚至被任命为德国外交部长。1993年统一后，东德和西德各党派以“自由和可持续发展”为中心，加入并建立了新的政党，并将其改名为联盟90/绿党。党的关键问题和模式是促进生态、经济和社会的可持续性。在2018年的联邦议会中，绿党占据了10%的席位。在巴登—符腾堡州，绿党的成员当选为市长（斯图加特、蒂宾根、弗赖堡）。以其强大的汽车工业而闻名的州代理首席大臣也来自绿党。在地方层面，绿党反对高档住宅，支持经济适用房、敏感性社区发展，反对城市边缘不合理的土地开发，同时支持通勤移动的可持续性。

BUND是德国另一个重要的可持续发展监督机构，是在各级都有民主决策机构的会员协会。该协会完全靠自己的收入提供资金——主要是通过会员费和超过500,000人的捐款。该协会在全国范围所有政府层面开展工作。由2,000多个志愿者小组处理对其地区而言重要的问题。这些问题包括维护自然保护区、动员反对大规模农业植物、有机农业和健康食品、气候保护和可再生能源的开发、支持保护濒危物种、森林和水资源或侦察工作（采取响应政府政策的活动）。

图1 / Figure 1根植于自然的社会A Society Rooted in Nature

3.5 文化和身份认同问题

2000年的历史塑造了德国的文化生活。宗教、建筑、艺术和相关传统是文化认同的支柱，这些因素对社会及其经济的发展作出了重大贡献。在以全球化、全球移民流动和多元文化意识形态为特征的时代，区域身份认同及其相关价值已成为一个问题。正如在许多其他欧洲国家一样，在德国保持区域文化身份认同是一个激烈的政治舞台，由自由派知识分子和德国民粹主义者对其进行阐述。因此，语言是一个关键因素。

艰苦的历史经验是德国城市和地区严格保护其历史遗产的主要动机。在法规和财政支援的支持下，在严格的公共和媒体控制的保护和推动下，城市的历史遗产维护成为城市发展的主要关注点。坚持（控制）和胡萝卜政策（补贴和税收激励）保证了实施。例如，在市中心开发高层建筑受到当地居民的强烈反对，这些居民仍然支持旧的基督教范式，即市中心的教堂塔楼应该仍然是市中心的最高层建筑。许多公民对现代主义开发者主导的建筑持怀疑态度。中等城市的当地教区制度和教堂土地所有权有助于保护市中心区的身份认同。

图2 / Figure 2重视历史History Matters

图3 / Figure 3土地所有权Land Ownership

在战争导致历史建筑和区域遭到破坏的地方，一些城市在当地保守行动团体的支持下甚至推动了标志性建筑的重建，如在德累斯顿、波茨坦、柏林或法兰克福。将新的功能性建筑物包裹在时尚的外墙中，以纪念原始建筑，这种建筑被称为记忆建筑。这些反现代主义项目的合理性是通过把文化和美学价值观以及营销论据相结合，以吸引媒体报道以及国内和国际游客，而得到证明。

3.6 土地所有权和经济适用房

拥有土地的人对城市发展、规划和决策过程有很大的权力。谁拥有德国城市的土地和财产？尽管德国有着悠久的土地登记传统，由于德国人民重视隐私问题，该国没有土地所有权统计数据。只有在能够证明因特殊情况，而有权获取在其他情况下非公开的土地登记册信息的情况下，才能获取有关土地所有权的信息。私人家庭和当地投资者拥有德国最多的城市土地。43%的德国人拥有房子，53%的人租用房子或公寓。城市土地的其他主要利益相关者是地方政府、银行、州或地方住房协会和开发公司、公司土地所有者以及德国铁路。在全球金融流动时期，国际对冲和养老基金进入了城市土地市场，但仅在市中心地区。第二次世界大战后，东德的社会主义政权征用了所有私人土地。在1990年统一后，这些财产在土地登记簿的基础上重新归于原来的土地所有者。这一政治决定造成了许多官僚主义的繁文缛节以及土地使用者和拥有者之间的紧张关系。

与欧洲其他国家相比，租赁住房市场相对较大。为了继承德国悠久的传统，许多地方政府和工业企业通过其公共和企业住房协会为低收入家庭提供经济适用房。然而，在20世纪90年代，由于假设德国人口将下降，加上商业顾问的糟糕建议，许多地方政府出售其公共住房以弥补赤字预算。一些国内和国际融资的房地产公司（如Vonovia）得益于销售。与此同时，当地政府已停止销售，并重新加强了公共住房协会的作用。

土地所有者缴纳财产税。此房产税相对较低，并且基于固定日期的房产价值（1952年在西德，1935年在东德）。由当地政府征收的财产税可能因城市而异。一些联邦州（例如柏林）甚至要求征收房产转移税（占房产价值的6%）。正在进行有关财产税制改革的政治讨论。提议的修订旨在修改对财产和土地价值的过时计算方法。

21世纪初，由于多种原因（移民、单身家庭的增长、员工的多地点性增加、高档化和度假租赁计划），德国经济适用房已经成为一个关键的政治问题。为提供经济适用房，公共住宅公司迫切需要建造新的房地产，鼓励年轻公民以优惠条件在当地政府提供的土地上建立新的住房合作社。在一些城市（慕尼黑市一直是矛头），当地法规迫使私人住房投资者以当地政府确定的实惠价格租赁30%的出租房。慕尼黑的“社会公平土地利用”模式（sozial gerechte Bodennutzung，德语简称SOBON）已经成为一种在大城市提供经济适用房的模范方法。

图4 / Figure 4家族企业Family Enterprises

图5 / Figure 5地方税基Local Tax Base

3.7中小企业和当地根深蒂固的家族企业

德国经济在很大程度上取决于中小型和家族企业。这些企业（包括手工业和独立专业人士）称为“Mittelstand”（中小企业）。中小企业是soziale Marktwirtschaft（德国社会市场经济）的重要支柱，以经济活动自由、私有制、团结、对话与合作为基础。

中小企业的特点是所有权、管理、责任和风险的统一，经济存在和领导的统一，以及公司管理层在所有相关业务政策决策中的负责任参与。中小企业未在证券交易所上市，投资通常是从利润中支付的。一般而言，中小企业为250~500名员工提供工作。

大多数中小企业（通常是家族企业占95%）在当地扎根，但许多企业具有全球竞争力。这些企业主要位于中小型城市，但通常位于较大的多中心城市地区。这些企业严重依赖合格、忠诚的当地劳动力，雇佣关系代代相传成为成功的基本要素。较大的企业通过自己的研究部门增强创造力和创新能力，或者从与地区学院和大学的密切关系中受益。中小企业的管理层通常由当地的贸易、手工业和商业商会组织与当地政府保持着良好的关系。这些中小企业是当地社会的重要参与者，也是当地文化和体育活动的重要赞助商。2014年，德国中小企业为58.5%的德国劳动力提供了需要缴纳社会保险费的就业岗位。中小企业为德国经济的整体营业额贡献了35.3%，并为私营部门所有受训人员的81.8%提供在职培训。

然而，在全球化时代，全球竞争正在影响着德国的中小企业。作为回应，企业在网络中合作并以专题组的形式组织，同时保持其企业独立性。德国汽车和工程行业在很大程度上依赖于中小企业中的众多高度创新企业的贡献。

3.8本地资助的城市发展

地方政府从哪里获得资金来完成他们必须完成的任务？在联邦政府、联邦州和地方政府之间的谈判之后，决定企业、收入和增值税在所有3个层级的政府之间共享。联邦政府和联邦州之间共享企业税（各占50%），而联邦政府、联邦州和地方政府之间共享所得税（42.5%，42.5%，15%）。类似地，3个层级的政府之间共享增值税（53.2%，44.6%，2.2%）。此外，地方政府有自己的税收收入，如地方贸易税（Gewerbesteuer,因城市而异）、相对较低的财产税、旅游税、第二居所税、狗税和饮料税。地方政府还从州、联邦和欧洲地方项目计划中获得财政捐助。一般而言，地方政府有兴趣在其城市边界内为本地注册的行业提供土地，并且可以理解的是，他们也有兴趣吸引在当地缴纳所得税的富裕公民。

地方政府的强制性任务包括社会福利、教育、地方道路、公共交通、公共安全或消防。例如，在2018年的法兰克福（一个相对富裕的城市）预算（2016年人口约730,000人）中，福利支出占预算的32%，教育占32%，公共交通占8%，安全占3%。文化事务（例如剧院、歌剧院、博物馆、管弦乐队、文化活动和文化中心）的支出是非强制性的。然而，法兰克福市将其预算的8%用于文化机构和活动这一当地政策领域，该领域占当地预算的份额高于大多数其他德国城市（慕尼黑除外）。这表明文化被视为描绘这座银行业城市的重要政策领域。

在支付了当地政府工作人员的工资和强制性费用之后，德国城市或县平均可用于当地投资和创意项目的可支配预算不多。因此，地方政府必须向国家或欧盟委员会申请金融项目支持，提供50%的项目成本份额，并为烦琐的官僚主义申请程序投入大量时间。

显然富裕的城市凤毛麟角，较贫穷的城市则相当多。德国较富裕的城市有慕尼黑、沃尔夫斯堡、斯图加特或英戈尔施塔特，这主要归功于这些城市的汽车生产。稍差些的城市有奥伯豪森、杜伊斯堡和奥芬巴赫，还有特里尔或魏玛。通常，这些城市都是汽车生产所在的城市，这些城市从此类行业取得的出口中成功获益。相比之下，在鲁尔（Ruhr）或东德等老工业区遭受结构变革的城市在履行其强制性任务方面存在相当大的困难。城市可以提供贷款来支付其费用，但相应的联邦土地有义务避免破产。由于全球化和大都市化，贫富地方政府之间的差距在不断扩大。

图6 / Figure 6双重教育Dual Education

图7 / Figure 7规划教育Planning Education

3.9高等教育和双重教育

有3种特殊信息对于理解德国的教育和研究体系至关重要。首先，从小学到高等教育机构的教育完全是联邦州的责任。联邦政府几乎没有干预高等教育的空间。其次，双重教育是德国经济的坚实基础。德国的第三项基础研究主要在大学之外、属于4个独立的科研机构网络的研究所内进行。3个这样的网络（莱布尼兹，亥姆霍兹，马克斯普朗克）由联邦政府资助。一个研究所（弗劳恩霍夫）由联邦政府和私营企业共同资助，但专门从事应用研究。

研究型大学和应用科学大学（Hochschulen）可供所有人使用。一般而言，公立大学的高等教育对德国学生和外国学生来说是免费的。此外，大约20%的学生（根据父母的收入）从政府获得奖学金，以支付部分生活费用。私立大学的数量可以忽略不计，虽然在一些学科（商业、法律、物联网、健康）有所上升。从各种各样的普通和职业中专成功毕业后，都能保障接受高等教育。除了建筑、艺术、音乐和医学之外，进入大学不需要入学考试。遵循经过慎重考量的国家政策，德国所有大型和大多数中等城市都设有大学，学生在学习期间可以留在家中，也可以每日乘车到大学学习。排名标准对本科和研究生学位并不重要。通过各州政府共同商定的法规，全国各地都保证了同等质量。2015年，大约50%的学校毕业生通过入读高等教育机构继续接受教育（1970年这一比例仅为11%）。与其他欧洲（非德语）国家相比，这个数字相对较低。原因是职业培训，尤其是手工艺培训，仍然受益于社会上的高声誉。

职业教育（在中学义务十年之后，不准备大学入学，是德国教育体系的一个重要方面）有悠久的传统，可以追溯到中世纪的行会制度。直到今天，职业教育依然是250多个领域（从面包师到水管工，从瓦工到汽车修理工和橱柜制造商，从理发师到女售货员或护士到电子专家或旅游经理）中同一年龄段人群中50%的选择。经过3年的带薪在职培训，并在专业培训学校接受理论和管理培训，学员获得专业学士学位，并在自愿继续进修3年后，获得相应专业的专业硕士学位。专业教育的组织和评估完全由贸易、手工业和商业商会自行组织。完善的双重教育体系解释了高标准的工业生产，这是基于其劳动力高度专业的资格。

德国的平衡空间发展也受益于该国分散的教育体系。轻松自由地接受教育是在城市和地区提供高度宜居性的关键因素。一些最好的德国大学位于中等城镇（例如康斯坦茨、哥廷根、明斯特、耶拿、蒂宾根、弗赖堡、埃尔兰根）。

图8 / Figure 8城市研究Urban Research

图9 / Figure 9公众参与Public Participation

3.10综合规划教育

受过良好教育的规划者为该国城市和区域发展的重大成就作出了巨大贡献。自20世纪初（那时城市设计和规划发展成为一项公共任务），德国的规划师教育传统上是在建筑学院完成的。希望成为公共部门公务员的大学毕业生当时（现在仍然）需要通过两年的公共部门实习才能获得规划职业资格。这两年的滚动式在职计划由公共部门的专业规划人员设计和专门实施。这个名为Referendariat（见习）的培训计划类似于希望成为公共律师或检察官的德国律师的培训。该计划不对所有人开发，需要经过竞争才能参加。要获得该课程的录取，潜在申请者必须具有大学水平的理学硕士或硕士学位（以前是工学硕士学位，即相当于硕士学位的工程学位），无论是在建筑、土木工程、测量或空间规划学科。规划教育独立于建筑教育，在60年代后期发展，受到进步的城市管理者支持，这些城市管理者明确表示缺乏合格的偏向设计的建筑规划师。今天，德国有一些空间规划学校（如柏林、多特蒙德、凯泽斯劳滕、汉堡、卡塞尔和科特布斯），这些学校提供5年综合教育，提供广泛的课程，这些课程以城市和区域发展为重点，完成课程后可以获得学士/理学学士/硕士/理学硕士学位。各种课程以研究方向为特点。在处理现实世界挑战的小组项目的环境下可以学习沟通技巧。在过去50年中，这些学校接受过培训的几千名规划师指导了德国城市和地区的城市和区域发展。

3.11密集的城市研究网络

地方和地区政府以及联邦政府的责任部门不断寻求城市和区域研究机构的咨询支持。这种主要以应用实践为导向的研究是在所有培养规划师、城市规划师、地理学家、社会学家、生态学家和交通工程师的大学进行，或者通过研究型规划顾问进行的。一般来说，研究是通过公开招标程序进行外包的，要求提出对与城市和地区当前发展挑战相关的紧迫研究问题的建议。除了这些应用研究外，德国研究协会还支持城市和区域规划的基础研究，该研究会在城市和区域研究方面还设有专门的分会。此外，还有莱布尼茨协会（Leibniz-Gesellschaft）支持的4个独立研究机构。莱布尼茨协会由93个独立研究机构组成，这些机构涉及自然、工程和环境科学、经济学、空间和社会科学以及人文学科，解决社会、经济和生态相关问题。德累斯顿、埃克纳/柏林和汉诺威的3个莱布尼茨研究所开展知识驱动和应用基础研究，维护科学基础设施，并在城市和区域发展领域提供研究型服务。另外两个研究机构在该领域发挥了特殊作用：Bundesinstitut für Bau, Stadt und Raumforschung im Bundesamt für Bauwesen und Raumordnung（联邦建筑、城市事务和空间发展研究所）和德国城市事务研究所（Deutsches Institut für Urbanistik, DIFU)），这两个协会由德国城市协会资助。虽然BBSR提供有关城市和区域发展的广泛数据和信息，但DIFU正在开展城市研究，并应地方政府的要求提供专题培训研讨会。另一个著名的德国研究机构是北莱茵—威斯特伐利亚州政府的智库—区域和城市研究所（Institut für Landes- und Stadtentwicklungsforschung, ILS）。

3.12公众参与和共识导向

公众参与城市发展已成为德国规划和决策过程中法律规定的惯例。公民参与所有（大多数）对社区和城区宜居性产生影响的过程。当地规划部门公开宣布举办并组织公开听证会和论坛，以展示和解释项目和计划。公民可以贡献他们的本地知识并阐明他们的关注点。这种公众参与过程有助于更好地了解城市发展目标，并通常能够改进计划和项目。然而，偶尔这种参与也有消极的一面。公民行动团体会使用（和滥用）参与来阻止或仅仅延迟项目（例如标志性项目、高速公路或机场延伸）或仅仅参与当地政党政治。在德国实施旨在解决当地基础设施问题（例如，桥梁、火车站、城市高速公路、机场的第二条跑道）或旨在把标志性建筑（例如，高层建筑、新的音乐厅或雄心勃勃的城市更新项目）添加到当地城市景观中的大型城市发展项目需要相当长的时间。这是多种原因造成的。由于根植于基督教价值观、政党环境、激烈的环境运动、自信的公民社会、调查性新闻以及有影响力的地方和地区媒体的环境中，对这些项目的讨论是非常有争议性的。因此必须找到共识。规划和决策的各个层面（从地方到欧洲层面）不断增加的法律和行政法规以及对专业能力的日益普遍的不信任，促使这些项目始终处于筛选和修订状态。这通常需要重新调查、重新进行财务计算、作出新的政治决策、完成新一轮行政审批、修订合同以及（在欧洲范围内进行程序性招标之后）新的建设承包企业参与。

地方政府不止一次寻求外部调解。调解被用作在不同群体或职位之间寻求妥协的工具。参与或雇用的独立调解人寻求所有相关团体可以达成的共识和妥协。偶尔甚至进行地方公民投票以获得民众对项目的支持或反对。决定把柏林市中心机场（滕珀尔霍夫）保留为开放式绿地的民众公投结果是一个相关的例子，这个例子表明了民主德国民间社会的力量。

4 后 记

以上内容简要概述了了解德国城市规划和城市发展政策的基本知识，显示了在探索成功规划项目和方法的可转移性时需要考虑的背景条件的复杂性。赞扬成功案例的花哨建筑期刊、受欢迎的趋势媒体和飞机杂志很少告诉读者为什么某些项目取得了成功。它们展示了令人印象深刻的图像和引人注目的可视化鸟瞰图，但很少涉及使项目成功的规划和决策过程。关于成功的叙述只能在更广泛的社会经济和政治—行政条件背景下看待。本文介绍了其中一些普遍适用的条件。

在更广泛的城市和区域规划背景下反映过去的成就，正在为规划对德国经济、社会和环境发展的微薄贡献绘制相对积极的图景。未来会有所不同吗？不可避免的全球化、进一步的数字化以及流向欧洲和德国的全球移民将为城市和地区带来新的挑战。如何应对这些挑战的影响（如社会两极化和包容性、经济权力集中和少数城市地区的合格劳动力、周边农村地区的边缘化或受青睐的城市的住房短缺）将不在规划师的控制范围内。规划师只能帮助缓和由其他人、政党、经济利益集团、对冲基金、金融部门或欧盟委员会和经合组织等国际机构或G20峰会驱动的政策带来的影响。德国的规划师已经采取了以下措施来应对上述发展趋势并更好地为其作准备。

•推广和设计城市密集化政策：响应经济发展和少数城市地区人口的进一步集中、越来越多的单身家庭、来自非洲和中东的移民流，并考虑生态问题，城市通过鼓励高层建筑，以更好地利用稀缺的城市土地和混合分区来促进城市控制和密集化。

•为市中心区和城市地区制订全面的移动性概念：解决城市地区交通问题的战略包括优先考虑公共交通网络、协调公共交通系统与土地利用开发（TOD）和分区；通过设立单独的自行车线和自行车快车道来推广自行车交通；在市中心减速并限制停车设施。

•改善城市可持续发展：维持环境和节约不可再生资源的措施将不断挑战城市和地区。这些措施包括减少移动性、促进区域内经济回路、促进现有住房和新建筑的节能现代化、节约用水、控制和绿化城市以及转向生物无害的农业生产。

•制订有效的农村发展战略。生活在城市区域较广外围内小城镇和村庄里的人们将逐渐体验到公共服务的减少。为了在这些处境不利的地区保持一定的生活质量，规划师必须利用数字技术以及隐性知识和内生人口的合作精神制订创新战略。

•监测第四次工业革命的空间影响：蒸汽机、铁路或汽车等技术创新大大改变了城市和地区。这种情况也随着经济和社会的持续数字化而发生。城市和区域规划师对技术创新没有影响，尽管他们可以监测这些技术对城市和地区生活及工作空间的影响，以指导地方和区域治理。

遗憾的是，由于市场经济发展的主导地位日益增强以及公共部门的持续消亡，德国的空间规划正逐渐失去其以前的意义和影响。虽然该国的新规划方法正在兴起：Heimatplanung（国土规划）。负责空间规划的联邦部门已更名为Ministerium für Inneres, für Bau und Heimat，其网站上此名并不完全准确地翻译成“内政、建筑和社区部”。该部门令人惊讶的命名反映了全球化时期整个欧洲的流行情绪：Heimat（家乡）的重新发现。这导致了BREXIT——法国右翼运动的情绪，或匈牙利人对欧洲的态度，体现了公民对他们正在失去文化认同的担忧。这是一个很好的机会，可以振兴他们破碎的声誉、提醒政界、重新获得尊重和影响。城市和区域规划一直是对生活在家乡的人民负责任的规划，而不仅仅是由官僚和律师推动和控制的、为投资者和开发商做的规划。保护家乡（包括濒危环境）一直是城市和区域规划的首要目标。过去，德国在这方面取得了相当大的成功。

图片来源

Figure Sources

图片均为作者提供。

Provided by the author.

注释

Notes

1 www.bbsr.bund.de/BBSR/EN/ The portal of the federal German Research Institute of Urban and Regional Planning.

2 www.arl-net.de > Grundriß der Raumordnung und Raumentwicklung. Compendium of Spatial Planning (in German).

3 www.staedtetag.de > The portal of the German Association of Cities.

4 www.tatsachen-ueber-deutschland.de/en, Facts about Germany. The portal with up-to-date statistics, facts and information about Germany.

5 www.denkmalschutz.de.

6 www.shop.arl-net.de/media/direct/pdf/ssd_7.pdf.

Understanding Urban Development in Germany (2)

Klaus R. Kunzmann

3.4 A society rooted in nature

When the Roman soldiers tried to colonize the regions in the North of the Roman territory, German tribes hiding in the vast forests stopped their invasion. Since then forests play an important role for the Germans. Forests have been hunting grounds of feudal landlords and local farmers; they provided the wood for constructing and heating homes, for producing furniture and for nurturing pigs. In modern times they are targets of families and nature lovers, who wish to observe wildlife and to breathe fresh air when hiking or cycling during weekends or summer holidays. Forests are the scenes of world-renowned German fairy tales,from snow-white and the seven dwarfs to Hänsel und Gretel. Forests also play a big role in German Romanticism, the dominant intellectual movement in philosophy, the art and the culture of German speaking countries in the 18th and early 19th centuries. The paintings of C.D. Friedrich at this time are key images and symbols of German longing for nature.

In 2016, the share of land in Germany covered by forests and woodland was around 32 percent. Year by year this share is slowly increasing as a result of structural agricultural change.. 48% of forest land is owned privately. 4% is owned by the Federal state, 26% by the Laender and 19% are mainly in the hands of local governments, the Church or other institutional landowners. Six German beech forests are even listed as UNESCO heritage forests.Rooted in the high regard of forests and nature,sustainability is a fundamental concern of the society. Nature conservation has a long tradition. Two green stakeholders are essential pillars of sustainable development in Germany. The Green Party(Bündnis 90/Die Grünen and the BUND (Bund Umwelt und Naturschutz Deutschland), an in fl uential NGO that is lobbying for nature preservation and sustainable environment.

The green fervour of the German society has been the key motive for establishing a green party in West Germany in 1980. In its beginning, it has just been an ideologically motivated in anti-nuclear and peace movement. Later on the movement turned into a party and became an established political power in the country. It represents basic values and principles of ecological development, self-determination, justice, big data concerns and equal rights for men and women. While sustainability is a rather conservative concept the social aims are more liberal and communitarian. In 1983, the party got political importance, when it succeeded to enter the German Parliament, and in 1985 Joschka Fischer a prominent leader of the party, became thefirst green minister in the federal state of Hessen,responsible for environmental affairs. Later he was even appointed Foreign Minister of Germany.In 1993, after reunification, the East and West German parties focussing on,free and sustainable development joined and established a new party,and renamed it Bündnis 90/Die Grünen. The key concern and Leitbild of the party is to promote ecological, economic and social sustainability. In the federal parliament of 2018, the Greens hold 10%of the seats.In the state of Baden-Württemberg members of the green party are elected city mayors(Stuttgart, Tübingen, Freiburg). The acting prime minster in the state that is known for its strong automobile industries, is from the green party, too.At the local level, the Green party battlesfight against gentrification and for affordable housing,sensitive neighbourhood development, unreasonable land consumption at the urban edge and sustainable mobility.

The other important watchdog of sustainable development in Germany is the BUND, a member association with democratic decision-making structures at all levels. It isfinanced exclusively by its own revenues – primarily through membership fees and donations of more than 500,000 people. The association works nationwide on all government levels.Over 2,000 volunteer groups tackle the issues that are important in their region. Such issues are among others the maintenance of nature conservation areas, mobilization against mass-farming plants, organic farming and healthy food, climate protection and development of renewable energies,for the protection of endangered species, forests and water or reconnaissance work with campaigns responding to government policies.

3.5 Culture and identity matter

2000 years have shaped cultural life in Germany.Religion, architecture, the arts and related traditions are pillars of a cultural identity that have contributed considerably to the development of the society and its economy. In times of globalization,global migration flows and multi-cultural ideologies, regional identity and related values have become a concern. As in many other European countries maintaining regional cultural identity in Germany is an important political arena, articulated by both liberal intellectuals and churchyard populists. Thereby language is a key element.

The thorny historical experience is the main motive behind the strict conservation of the remaining historical heritage in German cities and regions.Supported by regulation andfinancial support, and protected and enforced by strict public and media control, maintaining the historical heritage of a city is a main concern of city development. The implementation is guaranteed by stick (control)and carrot policies (subsidies and tax incentives).Developing high rise building in city centres, for example, receives much opposition among local citizens, who still support an old Christian paradigm that the church tower in the city centre should remain the highest structure in the inner city. Many citizens are suspicious of modernist developer-led architecture. Local parochialism and church land ownership in medium sized cities help to conserve the identity of inner city quarters.

Where war demolitions destroyed historical buildings and quarters, some cities, supported by local conservative action groups, even promote the reconstruction of flagship buildings, as it can be seen in Dresden, Potsdam, Berlin or Frankfurt.Wrapping new functional buildings into stylish facades, memorizing the original building is then called memory architecture. Such anti-modernist projects are justified by a combination of cultural and aesthetical values and marketing arguments to attract media coverage and national and international tourists.

3.6 Land ownership and affordable housing

Those who own land, have much power over urban development, in planning and decision-making processes. Who owns the land and property in German cities? Despite a long tradition of land registration in Germany, and for privacy concerns that are an essential concern of German people, there are no statistics of land ownership in the country.Access to information on land ownership is limited to persons who can prove that they have a particular case to get access to the otherwise non-public information of the land register. Private households and local investors own most urban land in Germany. 43% of all Germans own and 53% rent their house or apartment. Other key stakeholders of urban land are local governments, banks, state or local housing associations and development corporations, corporate landowners and the German Railways. In time of globalfinancial fl ows, though only in inner city locations, international hedgeand pension-funds are entering the urban land market. After the Second World War the socialist regime in East Germany had expropriated all private land. After reunification in 1990, this property was restitutioned to the original landowners on the basis of the land register. This political decision caused much bureaucratic red tape and much tension among those, who use and those who own the land.

Compared to other countries in Europe the rental-housing segment is relatively high. Following a long German tradition, many local governments and industrial corporations provide affordable housing for low-income households through their public and corporate housing associations. In the 1990s, however, assuming that the German population will decline, and badly advised by business consultants many local governments sold their public housing stocks to cushion deficit budgets.A few nationally and internationallyfinanced real estate corporations, such as Vonovia, benefitted from the sales. Meanwhile, the local government have stopped the sales and re-strengthened the role of public housing associations.

Landowners pay property tax. This property tax is comparatively low and based on the value of the property at afixed date (1952 in West Germany,1935 in East Germany). The property tax, which is levied by the local government, can differ from city to city. Some Federal states (e.g. ,Berlin) even ask for a property transfer tax (6% of the property value). A reform of the property tax system is under political discussion. The postulated revision aims to modify the outdated calculation of the value of the property and the land.

In the early 21st century, for a number of reasons(immigration, growth of single households, increasing multi-locality of employees, gentrification and vacation rental schemes) affordable housing in Germany has become a key political concern. To provide affordable housing, public housing corporations are urged to build new housing estates.Young citizens are encouraged to establish new housing cooperatives on land given by the local government on favourable terms. In some cities(the city of Munich has been the spearhead) local regulations force private housing investors to rent 30% of the rental housing at an affordable price determined by the local government. The Munich model of “socially fair land use” (sozial gerechte Bodennutzung/SOBON) has become a much-copied approach to provide affordable housing in larger cities.

3.7 Mittelstand and locally rooted family enterprises

The German economy is very much depending on small and medium-sized and family owned enterprises. These enterprises (including crafts and independent professionals) are known under the label Mittelstand. The Mittelstand is a key pillar of the soziale Marktwirtschaft (social market economy) in Germany. It is based on the freedom of economic activity, private ownership, and solidarity, dialogue and cooperation.

Enterprises that are belonging to the Mittelstand are characterized by the unity of ownership, management, liability and risk, the unity of economic existence and leadership as well as the responsible participation of the company management in all relevant business policy decisions. They are not listed on the stock exchange. Investments are usually paid out of profits. As a rule Mittelstand enterprises provide jobs in a range of 250 to 500 employees.

Most, usually family owned enterprises (95%) are rooted locally but many are globally competitive.Predominantly such enterprises are located in small and medium-sized cities, though usually within polycentric larger city regions. The enterprises heavily rely on qualified loyal local labour, making employer-employee ship relations over generations an essential element of success. Larger enterprises strengthen their creativity and innovative power by own research departments, or benefit from close relationship to regional colleges and universities. The management of the Mittelstand, usually organised in the local chambers of trades, crafts and commerce maintains good relations to local governments. They are key players in the local society and an important sponsor for local cultural and sports events. In 2014, the German Mittelstand secured jobs for 58.5% of the German labour force that is subject to social insurance contributions.The Mittelstand contributed 35.3 % to the overall turnover of the German economy and provided on-the-job-training for 81.8 % of all trainees in the private sector.

In times of globalization, however, global competition is affecting the German Mittelstand. As a response, the enterprises cooperate in networks and organize in thematic clusters, while maintaining their entrepreneurial independence. The German automobile and engineering industries depend heavily on the contributions of numerous highly innovative enterprises of the Mittelstand.

3.8 Locallyfinanced urban development

Where do local governments get their money from for the tasks they have to fulfil? Following negotiations between the Federal Government, the Laender and local governments, corporate, income and value added taxes are shared among all three tiers of governments. While corporate tax is shared(50%/50%) between the Federal government and the Laender, income tax is shared (42.5%, 42.5%,15%) between the Federal government, the Laender and local governments. Similarly the value added tax is shared (53.2%, 44.6% 2.2%) between the three tiers of government. In addition, local governments have their own tax income such as the local trade tax (Gewerbesteuer) which differs from city to city, a comparatively low property tax, tourism tax, second home, dog tax and beverage tax.Local governments also receivefinancial contributions from state, federal and European programmes for local projects. As a rule local governments have an interest to provide land for locally registered industries within their city boundaries and, understandingly, they also have an interest to attract af fl uent citizens, who pay income tax locally.

Mandatory tasks of local governments are among others social welfare, education, local roads, public transport, public security orfire protection. In the 2018 budget of Frankfurt (population 2016:730.000) for example, a comparatively rich city,welfare payments eat up 32% of the budget, education 32%, public transport 8%, or security 3%. Expenditures for cultural affairs (e.g. theatres,opera, museums, orchestras, cultural events and cultural centres) are non-mandatory. However, the city of Frankfurt spends 8% of its budget for local cultural institutions and events, a local policyfield,which receives a bigger share of the local budget,that is higher than in most other German cities(except for example Munich). This shows that culture is seen as an important policyfield to profile the banking city.

After having paid local government staff and mandatory expenses, the average German city or county does not have much disposable budget for local investments and creative projects. Consequently local governments have to apply forfinancial project support from the State or from the European Commission, offering a share of 50%project costs and investing much time for tediously bureaucratic applications.

Obviously there are a few rich and a considerable number of poorer cities. Richer cities in Germany are Munich, Wolfsburg, Stuttgart or Ingolstadt,mainly due to the automobile production located in these cities. Poorer cities are Oberhausen, Duisburg and Offenbach, but also Trier or Weimar. As a rule, these are cities, where automobile production is located. They benefit from the export success of these industries. In contrast cities in old industrial regions, such as the Ruhr, or in East Germany,suffering from structural change have considerable difficulties to carry on their mandatory tasks.Cities can make loans to cover their expenses, but the respective Federal Land is obliged to avoid bankruptcy. As a consequence of globalisation and metropolization the disparities between rich and poor local governments are constantly increasing.

3.9 Higher and dual education

Three peculiarities of information are essential to understand the German system of education and research. First, education, from elementary schools to institutes of higher education is exclusively a responsibility of the Laender. The Federal Government has little space to intervene in higher education. Second, dual education is a solid fundament of the German economy. Third basic research in Germany is mainly carried out outside universities at institutes that belong to four independent networks of scientific institutes. Three such networks(Leibnitz, Helmholtz, Max Plank) arefinanced by the Federal Government. One institute(Fraunhofer)is co-financed by the Federal Government and private industries, though specializing in applied research.

Universities and universities of applied sciences(Hochschulen) are accessible for everybody. As a rule, higher education in public universities is free for Germans and foreign students. In addition, around 20% of all students, depending on the income of their parents, receive scholarships from the government to cover parts of their living costs.The number of private universities is negligible,though rising in a few disciplines (business, law,IoT, health). Access to higher education is guaranteed after successful graduation from a broad spectrum of general and professional secondary schools. Apart from architecture, the art, music and medicine there are no access examinations to universities. Following deliberate state policies,universities are located in all large and most medium-sized German cities, allowing students to stay at home during her studies or reach a university by daily commuting from home. Ranking criteria are not important for undergraduate and graduate degrees. Equal quality is assured-across the country by regulations jointly agreed by all state governments. In 2015 around 50% of school graduates continued their education by enrolling at an institute of higher education (in 1970 thefigure was only 11%). Compared to other European (non-German speaking) countries this number is comparatively low. The reason is that vocational training,particularly in the crafts, benefits still from a high reputation in the society.

Vocational education (after obligatory ten years in secondary schools, which do not prepare for university entrance, is an essential dimension of the German education system. It has a long tradition that goes back to guild system in the Middle Ages.Still today it is chosen by around 50 percent of an age group in more than 250fields (from baker to plumber, from bricklayer to car mechanic and cabinet maker, from hairdresser to saleswomen or nurse to electronic specialist or tourist manager).After three years paid on-the-job training, complimented by theoretical and management training in specialized training schools, the trainees receive a professional bachelor degree, and after voluntary three more years, a professional master degree in the respective profession. The organization and assessment of professional education is exclusively self-organized by the chambers of trade, crafts and commerce. The well established-system of dual education explains the high standard of industrial production, which is based on the high professional qualification of its labour force.

Balanced spatial development in Germany also benefits from the decentralized system of education in the country. Easy and free access to education is a crucial factor in providing a high degree liveability in cities and regions. Some of the best German universities are located in medium-sized towns (e.g.Konstanz, Göttingen, Münster, Jena, Tübingen,Freiburg, Erlangen).

3.10 Comprehensive planning education

Well educated planners contribute much to the significant achievements of urban and regional development in the country. Since the beginning of the 20th century, when urban design and planning evolved as a public task, the education of planners in Germany was traditionally done at Schools of Architecture. Graduates from universities who wish to become civil servants in the public sector,had and still have to pass a two years internship in the public sector to qualify for the planning profession. This two years rolling on-the-job programme is designed and exclusively implemented by professional planners in the public sector. The training programme, called Referendariat is similar to the training of lawyers in Germany., who wish to become public lawyers or prosecutors. The access to this programme is limited and competitive. For being accepted to the programme, potential applicants must have a MSc or MA degree (formerly a Dipl. Ing, the engineering degree which is equivalent to a master’s degree) either in architecture,civil engineering, surveying or spatial planning at a university level. Planning education, independent from architectural education, evolved in the late 60s supported by progressive urban managers who had articulated the lack of qualifi¬cation among design biased architect planners. Today a few spatial planning schools exist in Germany (Berlin,Dortmund, Kaiserslautern, Hamburg, Kassel and Cottbus. These schools offerfive years comprehensive education in a broad range of subjects focussed on urban and regional development and leading to a (BA /BSc and MA/MSc in planning.The various courses are characterized by research orientation. Communication skills are learnt in the context of group projects dealing with real world challenges. A few thousand planners who have been trained at these schools over the last 50 years have guided urban and regional development in German cities and regions.

3.11 A dense network of urban research

Local and regional governments, as well as the responsible ministries of the Federal Government seek continuously advisory support from urban and regional research institutes. Such, mainly applied practice oriented research is carried out at all universities that are educating planners, urbanists,geographers, sociologists, ecologists and transpor-tation engineers, or by research oriented planning consultants. As a rule research is contracted out by an open tendering process, asking for proposals to press research questions that are linked to current development challenges in cities and regions.Besides such applied research, basic research in urban and regional planning is supported by the German Research Society, which maintains a special chapter on urban and regional research. In addition, four independent research institutes supported by the Leibniz- Gesellschaft (Leibnitz-Association) a network of 93 independent research institutions that range from natural, engineering and environmental sciences, to economics, spatial and social sciences to the humanities. They address issues of social, economic and ecological relevance. The three Leibnitz institutes in Dresden, Erkner/Berlin and Hanover conduct knowledge-driven and applied basic research, maintain scientific infrastructure and provide researchbased services in thefield of urban and regional development. Two more research institutes play a special role in thefield: The Bundesinstitut für Bau, Stadt und Raumforschung im Bundesamt für Bauwesen und Raumordnung (Federal Institute for Research on Building, Urban Affairs and Spatial Development) and the German Institute of Urban Affairs (Deutsches Institut für Urbanistik (DIFU),financed by the Association of German cities..While the BBSR is providing a broad spectrum of data and information on urban and regional development, the DIFU is carrying out urban research and offering thematic training workshops upon request of local governments. Another prominent German research institute is the Institute of Regional and Urban Research (Institut für Landesund Stadtentwicklungsforschung, ILS) a think tank of the state government of North Rhine-Westphalia.

3.12 Public participation and consensus orientation

Public participation in urban development has become a legally required routine in German planning and decision-making processes. Citizens are involved in all (most) processes that have an impact on liveability in neighbourhoods and urban districts. Open hearings and forums are publicly announced and organized by the local planning department, where projects and plans are shown and explained. Citizens can contribute their local knowledge and articulate their concerns. Such public participation processes lead to better understanding of urban development aims and, as a rule, to improve plans and projects. Occasionally,however, such participation has also a negative side. Participation is used (and misused) by citizen action groups to block or just to delay projects (e.g.fl agship projects, motorways, or airport extension)or just to play local party politics. Implementing large urban development projects in Germany that are initiated to solve a local infrastructural problem(e.g., a bridge, a railway station, an urban motorway, a second runway at an airport) or aim to add an architectural fl agship (e.g., a high rise building, a new concert hall or an ambitious urban renewal project) to the local townscape takes considerable time. This is the consequence of a number of reasons. Embedded in an environment of Christian values, a milieu of party politics, strong environmental movements, a self-confident civil society, investigative journalism and in fl uential local and regional media, the discourse on such projects is very controversial. Then consensus has to be found. Aggravated by a constantly increasing number of legal and administrative regulations at all tiers of planning and decision-making (from the local to the European tier) and a growing popular mistrust in professional competence, such projects are permanently screened and revised. This often requires new surveys, newfinancial calculations, new political decisions, new administrative approvals, the revision of contracts, and, after procedural European-wide tendering, the involvement of newly contracted enterprises responsible for the construction.

More than once local governments seek external moderation. Moderation is used as an instrument tofind a compromise between different groups or positions. Independent moderators are engaged or hired tofind a consensus and compromise that all groups involved can accept. Occasionally even local referenda are carried out to receive popular vote for or against a project. The popular referendum to keep the inner city airport of Berlin (Tempelhof) as an open green space is a pertinent example. It shows that the power of the civil society in democratic Germany.

4 Afterword

The above briefly sketched basics to understand urban planning and urban development policies in Germany shows the complexity of contextual conditions that are to be considered when exploring the transferability of successful planning projects and approaches. Fancy architectural journals, popular trend media and airplane magazines praising success stories do rarely inform their readers why certain projects have been successful. They show impressive images and striking bird eye view visualisation, but do rarely dig into the planning and decision-making processes that made a project a success. Success narratives are can only be seen in the context of a broader context of socio-economic and politico-administrative conditions. Some of these conditions have been presented in this paper.Such conditions do not travel.

Re fl ecting past achievements in the wider context of urban and regional planning is painting a relative positive picture of the scanty contribution of planning to economic, social and environmental development in Germany. Will the future be different?Inexorable globalisation, further digitalization and global migration fl ows to Europe and Germany will bring along new challenges for cities and regions.Coping with the implications of these challenges(such as social polarisation and inclusion, concentration of economic power and qualified labour in a few city regions, marginalisation of peripheral rural regions, or housing shortages in favoured cities), will not be in the hand of planners. They can only contribute to locally cushion the implications of policies that are driven by others, by political parties, by economic interest groups, hedge funds,thefinancial sector, or international institutions such as the European Commission and the OECD,or by the G20 summit. What planners in Germany are already doing to react to and better prepare for the above development trends is to

·Promote and design urban densification policies:Reacting to further concentration of economic development and people in a few city regions the increase of increasingly single person households,migration fl ows from Africa and the Middle East,as well as considering ecological concerns, cities promote urban containment and densification by encouraging high-rise buildings, a better use of scarce urban land and mixed zoning.

•Develop comprehensive mobility concepts for inner cities and city regions: Strategies to address traffic problems in city regions include priorizing public transport networks, coordinating public transport systems with land-use development (TOD) and zoning; promoting bicycle transport by building separate bicycle lines and bicycle motorways; reducing speed and limiting parking provision in inner cities.

•Improve sustainable urban development: Measures to sustain the environment and save non-renewable resources will continuously challenge cities and regions. Such measures include among others reducing mobility, promoting intra-regional economic circuits, promoting energy saving modernization of existing housing and new construction, saving water consumption, containing and greening cities as well as shifting to biologically sound agricultural production.

•Formulate efficient rural development strategies.People living in small towns and villages in the wider periphery of city regions will experience a gradual erosion of public services. To maintain a certain quality of life in such disadvantaged territories planners have to develop innovative strategies, using digital technologies as well as the tacit knowledge and the cooperative spirit of endogenous people.

•Monitor the spatial implications of the fourth industrial revolution: Technological innovations such as the steam engine, the railway or the automobile have changed cities and regions considerably. This is happening as well with the ongoing digitalization of the economy and the society.Urban and regional planners have no in fl uence on technological innovations, though they can monitor the spatial implications of such technologies on life and work spaces in cities and regions to guide local and regional governance.

Regrettably, due to the increasing dominance of market-oriented economic development and the continuing demise of the public sector, spatial planning in Germany is gradually loosing its former significance and in fl uence. Albeit a new approach to planning is rising in the country: Heimatplanung (homeland planning). The Federal Ministry responsible for spatial planning has been renamed into Ministerium für Inneres, für Bau und Heimat,on its website not quite accurately translated into Ministry of Interior, Building and Community.This surprising branding of the Ministry re fl ects a popular mood across Europe in times of globalisation: the rediscovery of the Heimat. This mood,which has caused the BREXIT, the rightwing movement in France, or the Hungarian attitude towards Europe, is the worries of citizens that they are losing cultural identity. This is a good chance to revitalise their shattered reputation and remind political arenas and to regain respect and in fl uence.Urban and regional planning has always been responsible planning for people in their homelands,not just planning for investors and developers, promoted and controlled by bureaucrats and lawyers.Protecting the Heimat, including the endangered environment has always been the overarching aim of urban and regional planning. In the past, Germany has been quite successful in doing so.