The Federal Office for Building and Regional Planning

Research Project: Mobilisation of private owners for urban development and housing construction

Project briefing

  • Status Completed
  • Project duration November 2019 – December 2021
  • Programme ExWoSt

The goal of the federal authorities is to encourage private apartment owners to adopt management and investment behaviour which coincides with political objectives, thereby involving owners in the urban development processes. The research project examined the formats and offers used to address individual owners and the housing and urban development objectives to which they are directed.

Background

Private individual owners own most of the housing stock in Germany and dominate our towns and cities with their property. For this reason, over the past roughly 15 years, various projects and (promotional) programmes have explored approaches to include private property owners in urban development and restructuring measures. The ExWoSt research fields ‘‘Neighbouring Property Owner Initiatives in Urban Restructuring (ESG)’’ (2008-2012) and ’’Cooperation in the Neighbourhood with Private Owners for Preservation of the Value of Inner City Property (KIQ)’’ (2011-2015) produced extensive findings.

The intention is to point out the disadvantages of small-scale, individual management by approaching, advising and supporting the owners, thus counteracting disinvestment processes and the negative effects that these entail for the neighbourhood. While the initiative for owner mobilisation is usually taken by the local authorities, great potential has been recognised in including owner associations as ‘‘mediators’’ in the activation and consultancy processes. The research project picked up on this experience.

Whereas the activities of past years were aimed primarily at owner mobilisation in the context of urban renewal and restructuring, the challenges of urban development have since diversified. There is a new need for action on issues concerning the procurement of living space in growing regions and the handling of climate change. Potentially new topics for owner mobilisation also arise from the new challenges of urban development and housing policy.

Objective

The object of the project was to improve understanding of the activities as well as the outline conditions for the involvement of owner associations as mediators or intermediaries in urban development and owner mobilisation measures. The focus here was on the most widespread property owner associations, such as those of the Haus & Grund organisation.

The research project examined whether new topics and fields of action by local authorities and owner associations play a role in the motivation of owners and the extent to which they can be the starting point for future mobilisation strategies.

Based on the resulting findings, the project also examined how the outline conditions and support approaches for owner associations as intermediaries in the mobilisation of owners can be strengthened in practice.

The research project was contracted out to Quaestio Forschung & Beratung GmbH, Bonn.

Contact us

  • Verena Lihs
    Federal Institute for Research on Building, Urban Affairs and Spatial Development
    Division WB 8 "Housing and Society"
    Phone: +49 228 99401-1220
    Email: verena.lihs@bbr.bund.de

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