Metropolises back local development

The concept of the IBA (International Building Exhibition) was born in Germany. Much more than a simple plan for providing a boost to urban environments, this is a full-size model that nurtures concrete projects for local development.
The notion consisting in revealing the potential dynamism of a pre-determined territory, has flourished in the course of the last twenty years. Over a limited period, generally 5 to 10 years, the aim is to invent the future of a metropolis and to work towards its construction. “It is hardly surprising that this innovative concept originated in Germany. The country’s culture is broadly geared towards projects for raising local wealth,” points out Heinz Reif, economics researcher at Humboldt University in Berlin, specialising in urban and mobility issues.
The IBA Berlin was built between 1979 and 1987. An eight-year period during which the city and its surrounds witnessed the birth of innovative and sustainable projects, thanks to the involvement of the Land (state), local authorities and partner companies. The modernisation of Saxe-Anhalt and its capital Magdebourg is the fruit of another IBA initiated in 2000, which will come to an end this year. A similar undertaking is currently constructing the Greater Hamburg of tomorrow, with the end of works foreseen for 2013. Indeed, most German metropolises were born from such initiatives.
Setting up an IBA is a matter of gathering projects around one global strategy. This
is a light, flexible structure for facilitating developments undertaken by contracting authorities: communes, commune groupings, private investors or local associations. The role of the IBA is to run the show, organising calls for projects and support for necessary financing. “These Germany-specific initiatives interest vast territories drawing together business incubators, activity clusters and communication centres, and work towards bringing their region sustainable development through numerous and various projects, not to mention the social and environmental dimensions of development,” continues Heinz Reif.
This type of project allows the release of latent energy and the mobilisation of all the actors of a territory around a common concept. “Political willpower does not suffice for constructing a metropolis. Careful planning is needed. The feeling of belonging to a shared space is essential for strengthening and legitimising the operation. The creation of modes of collaboration between partners is compulsory if the metropolis is to have a long-term future,” asserts the researcher. German IBAs are considered as critical in the creation of clusters of the future. They offer an exceptional national and international visibility, with possible long-term effects. And they apparently inspire confidence and pride in elected representatives and inhabitants, in their ability to build the future.

A metropolitan culture
This type of initiative fits in a national culture with a predilection for local initiatives. Large metropolises are in fact an ancient reality in Germany. Berlin, Hamburg and Bremen have long benefited from a city-state status, enabling them to cumulate powers on three levels of local administration (the Land or state, the district and the commune). These three city-states send representatives to the Bundesrat (Federal Council), which means that their mayors are de facto minister-presidents.
Following the division of Germany into 16 Länder, the second level of local administration consists of 323 districts which also constitute a type of inter-municipal cooperation in that they are financially dependent on their member communes. 116 cities with an average population of 185,000 inhabitants hold the district status, taking charge of the construction and maintenance of roads between communes, territorial development, the maintenance of reserves, social aid and youth support, the construction and maintenance of hospitals, high schools and vocational schools. These metropolises, called kreisfreie Städte, are often targeted by IBAs, with the aim of modernising, expanding and enriching them.
If Germany has reached such maturity in the creation of viable metropolises, it is the fruit of a long process. The great reform of territorial authorities began in the 1970s, slashing the number of communes from 24,000 in 1968 to 8,500 thirty years later. Over this period, the number of districts has halved. After the Reunification, a similar movement was undertaken in the East where the number of communes has dropped by around 35%. Work lies ahead for this part of the country to catch up with its western half. 80% of eastern communes currently hold fewer than 5,000 inhabitants.