ERFURT_Making Thuringia's city centers more resilient and attractive in order to preserve them as social, cultural, and economic hubs – this is the goal of the Thuringian action alliance City Centers with a Future.
The event offers all participants the opportunity to learn about the latest results from the three working groups of the action alliance; this takes place in the form of a so-called gallery walk, during which guests wander through a presentation and exhibition and can individually decide which content they wish to take in. A central theme of the meeting is the photography competition “Downtown Snaps“ announced by the action alliance, in which Thuringians are invited between May 5 and June 15 to photographically capture and submit their most beautiful city center views and favorite views from Thuringia's small and medium-sized towns. The competition is held statewide and is endowed with total prize money of 3,500 euros. Also addressed is the project “Essbare Stadt Mühlhausen“, which is oriented toward the core concern of sustainability – the aim here is to increase the quality of open space and quality of life in the North Thuringian district town, for example by using fallow or uncultivated green spaces bed by bed for growing vegetables, herbs, and fruit. To further the goal of managing vacant space, an online platform called “Kompass“ is currently being developed – in the future, best-practice examples for innovative approaches to dealing with vacancy in city centers are to be presented here. Municipal actors who have successfully implemented projects in the field of vacancy management can participate here and present their projects – for users, the platform will provide valuable suggestions and inspiration in the future. Hans Elstner will provide substantive impulses on the topic of digitalization in a lecture at the meeting – he is founder and CEO of Jena-based rooom AG, a company that offers diverse 3D solutions in the areas of visualization and events.
Background:
The Thuringian Action Alliance “City Centers with a Future” was founded in 2021 on the initiative of the Erfurt Chamber of Industry and Commerce (IHK) and now comprises more than 50 institutions, including ministries, municipalities, associations, city managers, and practitioners. The LEG Thüringen runs the office and organizes the regular alliance meetings. In addition, the alliance aims to continuously increase the number of its members. A key goal of the action alliance is to raise the alliance's profile throughout the state and to have a stronger impact in rural regions and their small towns. In cooperation with the ministries, the funding structures relevant to the revitalization of city centers are also to be continuously optimized. The evaluation of existing funding programs and the assessment of current needs and challenges in urban development are central elements of the alliance's work. From the outset, a focus has been on adapting existing funding instruments – a priority that will continue to significantly shape the content design in the future. The alliance's work is largely carried out in three working groups; their thematic areas are “Living and Life in the City,” “Managing Vacancy,” and “Climate.”.
Further information at:
https://sre.leg-thueringen.de/thueringer-aktionsbuendnis-innenstaedte-mit-zukunft/
