The LebensWert project is developing a management concept that helps small towns to secure their quality of life through improved infrastructure and quality of living.
Focusing on the demographic change, the project “LebensWert“ is aiming to introduce a development management that is to facilitate the upkeep of the quality of life for the inhabitants of small towns and their neighboring communities. In order to improve the housing quality, the necessary infrastructures are taken into view: Water and wastewater, energy, residential environment as well as local mobility.
In the model region, the county town of Eschwege and its neighboring communities are cooperating with the research partners ISOE (lead) and the German Institute of Urban Affairs (Difu). Based on status quo analyses as well as on prognoses with a focus on interdependencies between single fields of action, possible development paths and accordingly necessary options for action will be worked out. Under the direction of the town of Eschwege selected measures are then to be tested in the model region. Simultaneously and after consultation between the communities, an organization and management model will be developed. Here, transdisciplinary integration guarantees the participation of the communities’ actors as well as a high degree of practical relevance of the project results. The core transfer products will be instruments for development management and transferable and organizational models for communities.
Demographic change entails considerable adaption requirements for the municipal authorities in charge of public services. These adaption requirements are part of securing the quality of life in small towns and their neighboring communities. Small towns in structurally weak regions like for instance the county town of Eschwege in Eastern Hesse are facing great challenges regarding the transformation of their infrastructures and the maintenance of public services. Here, communities are often on the lookout for suitable instruments and organization models. Currently, a clearly structured, integrated management is missing which links different areas and authorities and offers advice on how to tackle necessary changes with regard to infrastructures and the quality of stay. Of the instruments that are already existing only few cover the entire path from the status analysis up to the project development and implementation support.
“LebensWert“ is sponsored by the Federal Ministry for Education and Research as part of the funding measure “Kommunen innovativ”.
Funding Code 033L179A
Jutta Deffner, Melina Stein
Available online
Jan Hendrik Trapp et al.
Available online
Martin Zimmermann, Jan Hendrik Trapp, Jörg Felmeden
Available online
Can sustainability be achieved through technological developments alone? How can transformations towards sustainability be shaped in the face of escalating crises and conflicts?
Go to Topic Page
