Scale And Selectivity In Urban And Regional Regeneration

摘要

In May I was shown around part of the German Land of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in north-east Germany. Like so many parts of the old DDR, it suffered significant loss of population and severe erosion of its economy after German re-unification. The response from the German government has been massive investment in housing and infrastructure in all the towns and villages of this and other of the eastern lander. I was told that more than one trillion Euros have been pumped into the old eastern Germany. Travelling around the area, the impact is everywhere to be seen. Even the smallest village has new or refurbished housing, excellent resurfaced roads and new public facilities. The result for the casual traveller is the delight of visiting places which seem to have stepped out of a history book and yet have modern amenities. Unfortunately, good-quality renovation cannot hide the number of properties still in need of attention, nor hide the decaying forlorn 'for sale' signs on old granaries and commercial premises which have lost their raison d'etre. Declining population continues to be a serious problem and private investment is patchy. Nevertheless, as I flew back home to a post-industrial conurbation in northern England, there seemed much that was admirable in the strategy of universality which Germany has undertaken since re-unification. By contrast, British governments over the years have only ever stirred to tackle regional imbalances when they need votes or in fear of large-scale riots.