Support options for revitalizing city centers and town cores focused in particular on funding for municipalities and the commercial sector, as well as image campaigns highlighting the diversity of city centers. "The event once again underscored: Revitalizing our city centers is a major challenge that we can only overcome with broad support and extensive networking," said Infrastructure Minister Susanna Karawanskij. "With Thuringia's urban development funding, we have an effective instrument for creating and preserving sustainable urban structures. In particular, the 'Living Centers' program enhances and revitalizes city and town cores and secures them as multifunctional locations," she added.
"Modern inner-city development must focus on the diversity of possible uses. Here I see many opportunities to create new, interlinked and attractive urban spaces from vacant properties through subsequent and alternative uses. Successful co-working spaces or pop-up stores, for example, come to mind, which we also have in view, for instance with our start-up pass. This allows founders to rent a space in a co-working space and receive a subsidy from us for it. Such trends and developments should be brought more into focus. This can only be achieved together, which is why the action alliance continues to have my full support," says Economics Minister Wolfgang Tiefensee.
Among other things, as part of the Thuringian accompanying research on urban redevelopment, the development of vacant properties in the Free State is analyzed. As of December 2020, the vacancy rate in the program municipalities averaged 7.9 percent. There were very different regional developments. Almost half of the program municipalities recorded a vacancy rate of over ten percent.
Most recently, the vacancy issue is also being surveyed as part of the “Retail Survey 2022 for Thuringia“. Its goal is to provide a reliable planning basis for the spatial planning and state planning of the Free State. From September to December 2022, the retail stock and shop vacancies were surveyed across the entire Free State. The results are currently being evaluated and analyzed. Concrete results are expected by the end of March 2023.
