Urban planning - in a general and comprehensive sense - can be understood as the effort of creating a spatial order of living together which meets the human needs (Albers 1992: 4). Its importance for the development of cities and municipalities in Germany cannot be assessed highly enough. The spatial pattern of land use as well as the type and shape of buildings, streets and squares is, to a great extent, the result of planning activities. Not only regulating the physical structures belong to the tasks of public planning but governing the social and economic development of the municipalities as well. In order to realize the nature and content of urban planning its historical evolution, its legal foundation [1], its organizational form and future perspectives, will now be considered.
Ideas of restricting the individual freedom of construction in favor of achieving general public security or an urban spatial order respectively were already in use in the cities of the Middle Ages. In many places regulations [2] existed with regard to fire prevention, the maximum numbers of floors and - in relation to neighboring buildings - the minimum distance and the location of windows. Some local building regulations even allowed the expropriation of private houses and land property if somebody defied the obligation for or the interdiction against construction respectively. The "Allgemeine Preußische Landrecht" [3] (General Prussian Land Use Law), which came into force in 1794, is seen as the origin of German planning legislation. In this law the principle was formulated for the first time, that the individual use of property might not lead to disadvantages for the general public. Only decades later this postulation was backed up by concrete regulations such as the " Preußische Fluchtliniengesetz" [4] (Prussian Alignment Law) of 1875. The necessity of controlling private construction activities more strongly had become more and more urgent since the middle of the 19th century due to enormous urban growth. High densities of buildings and the chaotic mixing of residential and industrial land use had led to severe hygienic and social shortcomings in the rising big cities. However, at first the legislation was restricted only to laying down the alignments so as to insure the transportation areas. The form and architecture of the buildings along the streets was still left up to the owners. Only building inspectorate regulations, in order to avoid risks, prevented the owners from covering the plots of land completely with buildings in order to gain maximum returns. For example, the minimum size [5] of tenement block backyards [6] had to be at least the size of the fire brigades safety blanket.
At the beginning of the 20th century it was common consensus that the public influence on urban development surpassed the danger prevention measures of the building supervisory inspectorate by far. The governments of the Weimar Republic [7] reacted by passing different laws - for example, the "Preußische Wohnungsgesetz" (Prussian Dwelling Law) of 1918. In particular, these laws should counteract a far too dense construction within settlement areas. At least ostensibly even the National Socialists strengthened the role of urban planning by passing legal regulations, such as the "Gesetz zur Erschließung von Wohnsiedlungsgebieten" (Law of Developing Residential Areas) of 1933 or the regulation that transportation constructions were subjected to authorization. But the municipal freedom of style was very much restricted by the dictate of the uniform National Socialist style of architecture.
Since 1945 in the Federal Republic of Germany- in particular in order to make a clear distinction from National Socialism - great value was attached to the renewed strengthening of the territorial jurisdiction [8] of the municipalities. This achievement, which has its origins in the reforms of Freiherr vom Stein [9] (1757-1831), a Prussian statesman, guaranteed a self-responsible urban planning which should have decisive influence in the successful reconstruction of the cities destroyed by the war. This is in distinct contrast to the situation in the German Democratic Republic where, already since 1950, the planning of reconstruction was centrally organized based on a state reconstruction law. In the first phase planning coordination, guidance and controlling was the duty of the ministry of reconstruction, since the 1960s that of the ministry of construction in cooperation with the council of the Bezirk (county) (Nutz 1998: 108 ff). Consequently the cities and municipalities were very restricted in their planning scope, communal activities had become a part of the apparatus of the state. As a result the East German cities received a unified architectural and functional structure corresponding to the Socialist ideal.
In the immediate post-war period the most urgent tasks of urban planning in the FRG - rubble clearing and reconstruction - took place on the basis of province specific "Aufbaugesetze" (reconstruction laws). Very soon after these laws had been passed by the parliaments of the Länder (provinces) (except Bremen and Bavaria) it became apparent, that they could not provide a sufficient base for carrying out future planning tasks. After all urban planning should not only be oriented towards redressing urban flaws but also incorporate a foresighted planning policy of the whole urban development. A first step in this direction was the division between building regulations and planning law. Based on the expert legal report drawn up by the Federal Constitutional Court in 1954 the planning legislation became the task of the federal level, whereas the building regulations [10] were left to the legal territory of the Länder. In the following years the Länder declared provincial building regulations [11] (Landesbauordnungen), which contained regulations regarding sites (distance, space between buildings, etc.) and physical structures (statics, fire security, etc.). In 1960 the Bundesbaugesetz (BBauG) (Federal Building Act) became effective as the first country-wide legal planning regulation. Several amendments were set into force before it was combined with the Städtebauförderungsgesetz [12] (StBauFG) (law of promoting urban renewal) effective since 1971 into the Baugesetzbuch [13] (BauGB) (code of law for construction) in 1987. This code is still the legal base of urban planning in Germany today.
The aim of this code is twofold: ensuring a well-organized urban development as well as a socially just land use which meets the needs of the general public and contributes to create an environment fit for human habitation and protects the natural basis of life. The most important measure for reaching these goals is the binding urban land use planning [14], which prepares and governs the constructional use of the sites and other uses as well. Two categories of land use plans are placed at the disposal of the municipalities: the Flächennutzungsplan [15] (FNP) (preparatory land-use plan) and the Bebauungsplan [16] (binding development plan). The FNP has the task [17] to portray the kind of land use wanted for the city as a whole - building areas, areas for transportation, green spaces, water surfaces, etc. The plan is legally binding to the municipal administration. The binding development plans [18] are elaborated from this preparatory land-use plan, the development of which often takes decades. These plans contain - for parts of the community - legally binding regulations for everybody, for example, type of structural use, minimum standards of size, width and length of sites or the designation of transportation areas (pedestrian, parking, etc.). Development proposals in areas exterior to areas with a binding development plan are permissible if they fit into the structural and functional characteristics of the neighborhoods. Furthermore communities can use the legal instrument of urban development enforcement order, with which private landowners can be obliged to remove non-wanted structures or to modernize dilapidated buildings.
Within the limits of these legal regulations the persons involved in urban planning can take action. Usually the elaboration of urban land use plans is the duty of urban planners [19] and architects of the municipal planning board. Developing a binding development plan is preceded by analyzing the current situation, which helps to determine the planning needs of the community - e.g. the construction of a new residential area for single family homes. Experts then will develop an initial planning frame which will be presented to the so-called public agencies [20] (e.g. transportation or housing companies) and the citizens concerned. After having considered the suggestions and objections a first draft of the binding land use plan will be elaborated and introduced to the municipal council. If the plan is passed by the council and has been formally opened to the public it will be submitted for a legal check to the supervisory board - in most cases the higher ranked regional planning board [21]. Land use planning is an essential self administrative task of the community. However, at the same time an obligation exists to adjust the plan to the aims of the federal spatial planning [22], fixed in the Raumordnungsgesetz [23] (federal law of spatial order), and of the regional planning at the level of the states [24] and regions [25] as well. Adjusting the municipal decisions to the development plans of the higher ranked planning levels [26] as well as the participation of citizens within the planning process is in correspondence with the so-called Gegenstromprinzip (principle of countervailing influence) - one of the most important essentials of the spatial planning system in Germany.
Coordination between the different levels of planning [27] is essential, especially since suburbanization has led to an increasing urbanization and unchecked growth of urban regions since the 1960s. As a consequence urban planning should not be restricted to the city boundaries if planning has the task of creating effectively functioning structures. Instead it has to consider the spatial realities of neighboring communities [28], regions and provinces. The alliance of different communities of the Rhine-Main region into the so-called Umlandverband Frankfurt [29] (Greater Frankfurt Area Association) is an outstanding example of successful inter-communal planning. Not only the coordination between higher ranked planning levels and neighboring municipalities but the constructive collaboration between different local sector planning agencies is an important prerequisite for a successful planning process, too. The various competitions for land uses [30] - in particular in the densely built-up and problem burdened city centers, require an intensive coordination between urban planning, urban renewal, preservation of historic buildings and monuments [31], as well as promotion of the urban economy [32] and transportation planning [33]. At present this coordinating task, named as city marketing [34], is granted the highest priority in creating a modern urban development planning strategy.
Due to the increasing financial problems of the state, tasks of urban planning are often handed over to private agencies - for example planning consultants [35] or agencies for project development [36]. At present many big urban projects can be realized only with the help of public-private-partnerships [37]. In particular this becomes apparent when looking at the development of East German communities since 1990. Although the West German planning law was assigned to the territory of the Neue Bundesländer (new states) with the unification pact, the exceptional situation of the post-Wende years made specific regulations necessary going beyond the regular law. According to the so-called Maßnahmengesetz [38] (law of planning measures), which was added to the regular law, binding development plans can be developed by private investors. So one particular future task of the municipalities will be to take care of an early public participation [39] in planning processes in order to meet the growing influence of private planning initiatives. An innovative form of people-oriented planning is the so-called "Planungswerkstatt" [40] (planning workshop). Even before finishing the first planning frame everybody concerned - residents, planners, potential investors, public agencies etc. - meet in order to discuss and decide the scenarios desired. Such a grass-roots procedure is led on by the hope of being able to reconcile the spatial structures more strongly towards the wishes and ideas of the citizens - surely the best guarantee for a sustainable, future oriented urban planning.
| Top | Content | VGT Home |