Lübbenau „Project Lübbenaubrücke“
The "Lübbenaubrücke" is an inner-city and housing cooperation project of the housing companies Wohnungsbaugesellschaft im Spreewald mbH (WIS), Gemeinschaftliche Wohnungsbaugenossenschaft der Spreewaldstadt Lübbenau e.G. (GWG) and the town of Lübbenau. With the development and initiation of urban redevelopment projects, public participation and town marketing, a location is being created with a sustained high quality of housing and life.
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Context
Source: Dr. Jürgen Othmer
In the GDR, Lübbenau (today: 17,500 inhabitants) experienced a large increase in its population because of the constant demand for workers in the surrounding power stations and lignite mines. As part of this development, the large housing estate Neustadt was built, where shortly before German Reunification more than 80% of the around 23,000 inhabitants of Lübbenau lived.
With the closure of the lignite mine and the power stations in the mid-1990s, the population quickly fell, leading to a loss of more than 25 percent of the inhabitants. Neustadt was particularly affected by this development. The vacancy rates in the stock belonging to Wohnungsgesellschaft im Spreewald (WIS) and Gemeinnützige Wohnungsbaugenossenschaft (GWG) were correspondingly high. WIS in particular, which owns two thirds of the entire housing stock in Neustadt, was facing a vacancy rate of approx. 20%. The vacancy rate of GWG was around 10% because of the higher renovation conditions.
Project description
Source: Dr. Jürgen Othmer
In order to be able to counter the vacancy problem effectively, the town of Lübbenau and the two housing companies together created the cooperation project "Lübbenaubrücke" in 1999. The basis for the cooperation project was formed by a contractual agreement between the town and the housing companies. This determines the following premises for action:
- Early involvement of all participants and affected parties
- Promotion of public commitment
- Intensive cooperation and permanent communication between the housing companies, the town, the planners, the urban district manager and the tenants
- Holistic planning approach, flexible planning instruments and permanent financing capability
The organisational management of the "Lübbenaubrücke" is assumed by the project sponsors, which include the mayor and the chairs of the housing companies. The so-called "Brücken" council mainly has an advisory and controlling role. The "Lübbenaubrücke" established joint monitoring to examine and improve the urban redevelopment process. In consultation with the local utilities companies, the partnership devised three extensive concepts between 2000 and 2002 for the housing and inner-city development.
A central measure here is the demolition of 2,400 of the 7,000 apartments in Neustadt. The demolition concentrated on the peripheral areas of the large housing estate and the aim was to increase the quality of housing in the remaining centre of Neustadt, alongside developing new and attractive residential buildings through partial reductions, changes to layouts and the addition of balconies and gazebos. Numerous new green spaces (e.g. a new urban park close to the central square in Neustadt), sports, cultural and leisure facilities, and a new central shopping area ("vis-a-vis"), contribute to the enhanced living environment. As a result of the "Lübbenaubrücke" work, private initiatives have also started becoming involved in the urban redevelopment. Above all, the organisation "Freunde der Lübbenaubrücke" (Friends of Lübbenaubrücke), which supported smaller projects, along with the numerous working groups where interested parties were able to contribute innovative ideas to the respective focus of the work, have to be highlighted. In this way, a large number of Lübbenau residents were successfully involved in the urban redevelopment project and, thanks to this pool of ideas and smaller projects, a noticeable upgrading of Neustadt was achieved.
Project chronology
Year | Event |
---|---|
1999 | Partnership between town of Lübbenau and the two local housing companies to form the project "Lübbenaubrücke" |
2000 | Joint establishment of the urban development concept |
2001 | Joint establishment of the urban redevelopment concept |
2002 | Joint establishment of the housing company |
2003 to 2007 | Demolition of 118 apartments in Neustadt; founding of the school pupil organisation "SOS Lübbenaubrücke"; demolition of 873 apartments |
2007 | Establishment of the Integriertes Stadtentwicklungskonzept Lübbenau (INSEK) – to simplify the planning of partnerships and institutions and to make this transparent |
2000 to 2008 | Redevelopment and renovation of approx. 1000 apartments; design of approx. 300 retirement apartments; demolition of 950 apartments; division of the Neustadt large housing estate into several neighbourhoods for better identification with the residential district (for example: housing for retired people and families) |
Aims
- To create high quality housing and living for residents and tourists
- To strengthen the infrastructure and the regional economy
- To improve the inner-city structure: Reactivation of the green links, removal of wasteland and barriers and concentration of commercial spaces
- To reduce vacancies
Types of measures
- Cooperation project between the town and housing companies
- Involvement of as many participants as possible as a large number of private stakeholders
- Concepts for developing the town and the housing market
- Demolition of apartment buildings on the fringe of the large housing estate
- Partial reduction, building renovation and layout changes
- Upgrading of the housing environment with green spaces, sports, cultural and shopping facilities
- Monitoring of urban redevelopment
Innovations
Source: Dr. Jürgen Othmer
The exemplary local partnership model "Lübbenaubrücke" promotes the permanent cooperation of the three project sponsors with each other and with utilities companies and the residents. The voluntarily applied principles create the necessary trust between all participants. The direct commitment of the highest decision makers ensures a rapid and reliable urban development process. Within the framework of the urban development process, local companies and tourism have also been strengthened. The partnership community and the local organisation support many voluntary stakeholders that participate in smaller projects relating to the various subject areas of the redesigning of their home town. In this way, the urban redevelopment process is becoming a joint organisation with all local stakeholders.
Sources
- Internet presence of the "Lübbenaubrücke" project: http://www.luebbenaubruecke.de/
Further information
- Haller, Christoph/Thurn, Thomas (2004): Partnership for urban redevelopment – Cooperation between housing companies and the town. Documentation of an event of the Stadtumbau working group
- Othmer, Jürgen (ed.): Designing the future. Housing and living in the information age. Potsdam 2003.
- Lübbenaubrücke – Project description (ed. Project office)
The projekt site ist to be found at postal code: 03222 - town: Lübbenau - street: Güterbahnhofstraße 57.
Poject site on Google-Maps: https://goo.gl/maps/oqocUWdhcKP2
Last update: 24.01.2017