Handelsverband Deutschland (HDE), the German retail association, has expressed concern about the government’s plans to address housing shortages by increasing residential density in city centres.
According to the HDE, high-priority inner-city functions such as retail could be jeopardised by rolling out new residential options in city centres, as has been suggested by Germany’s Federal Ministry for Housing, Urban Development and Building (BMWSB).
The HDE made the call at the 18th Federal Congress on National Urban Development Policy.
‘Commercial locations’
“Our city centres are primarily commercial locations,” commented HDE executive director Stefan Genth. “Retail is the key driver of footfall locally. This must also be reflected in the Federal Ministry of Construction’s urban development plans.”
The HDE added that it fundamentally views the intended acceleration of housing construction and the securing of housing through temporary relief for municipalities as a positive, and reiterated the need to simplify and promote the creation of affordable housing for all.
“However, it is questionable whether the city center can contribute to easing strained housing markets,” Genth added, suggesting that dense housing in central locations and the conversion of existing properties into inner-city residential space would not sufficiently meet demand for residential housing, while also impacting key commercial activities.
Catchment effect
City centres, the HDE noted, are built around high-priority central functions, including retail, which have large catchment areas. Housing, by contrast, lacks such a catchment effect.
“The residential function has no catchment area and will not be able to trigger any attraction effects on the surrounding area,” Genth added. “Therefore, housing is not a high-priority central function. Instead of strengthening the residential function in city centres, the focus for the future of our city centres should be on strengthening high-priority central functions.”
The character of city centres as a concentration of high-priority central functions and the main commercial location ‘must not be jeopardised’, the HDE added. Read more here.
