URBAN II Community Initiative Programme for Bremerhaven
Free Hanseatic City of Bremen
The project:
URBAN II Community Initiative assistance programme 2000 – 2006 in the state of Bremen (City of Bremerhaven)
Size of area covered:
326 hectares
approx. 23,000 inhabitants
Support period:
2000 - 2006
Total support:
€ 20.177 million, of which € 10.088 million EU support funding (ERDF)[1]
Main problem:
The hard-hitting consequences of the ongoing structural weakness of the City of Bremerhaven – rooted in an economy which has always been excessively reliant on the maritime industry – are manifesting themselves in a particularly dramatic way in the suburbs of the programme area: above-average unemployment, worsening poverty, and a lack of prospects, particularly for children and young people, characterise the situation of the inner-city suburbs. In view of these complex problems and a negative image, both within the area and outside it, and the increasing trend for new companies to locate in the surrounding areas, the city's suburbs have a great need for integrated problem-solving concepts.
Strategic objectives:
The main objective, i.e. to stabilise the economic and social development and to make the area competitive compared with locations outside the city, is to be achieved via the following strategic goals:
· strengthening economic prosperity and employment;
· promoting equality of opportunity, social inclusion and renewal, strengthening of people's sense of identification with the area;
· protecting and improving the environment and the recreation function;
· boosting the competitiveness, functionality and attractiveness of the area;
· reviving historically valuable functions and infrastructure.
Support priorities:
1) Economic development
2) Labour market and social affairs
3) Urban renewal / ecology
4) Technical assistance
Structural conditions in the area
Situation in the city as a whole
A decisive role in the development of the maritime city of Bremerhaven was played by the port industry, with shipyards, (maritime) component suppliers and fish-processing firms. Not least due to this excessively one-sided economic structure, the City of Bremerhaven has in the past been particularly hard hit by cyclical crises in the shipbuilding industry. It has so far proved impossible to develop new commercial activities, e.g. in the services sector, to an adequate degree. Against the background of this process, 15.2% of Bremerhaven's jobs (i.e. jobs for which social security payments have to be made) were shed between 1990 and 1998; the average figure for western Germany in the same period was 1.3%! The concomitant high level of unemployment is resulting in rising levels of poverty in the population.
The current situation
The assisted area, which borders Bremerhaven's city centre, is dominated by a large number of extremely underdeveloped commercial and industrial sites, by numerous areas of waste ground, deficiencies in terms of green spaces and the environment, and a difficult economic situation. There are clear signs of increasing poverty: for example, the proportion of people living on social benefits in certain parts of the assisted area is much higher than what is in any case a very high urban average. The difficult economic situation is causing poverty-related social exclusion, a loss of motivation and a decline in cultural activities. The URBAN II activities are intended to build on the area's endogenous potential.
Location and area
The area covered by the programme is located to the north and east of the central area of Bremerhaven, and includes parts of the suburbs of Mitte, Lehe and Geestemünde. It includes densely populated areas, the area along the river Geeste and the New Harbour wasteland.
Area: 326 hectares
Number of inhabitants: approx. 23,000
Population density: no data
Social structure
The social structure of the assisted area reveals great disparities in a small area. The northern part of the assisted area in particular, the suburb of Lehe, has very difficult social structures, reflected not least in a disproportionately high population decline, a very large number of people living on social security, and school-leavers achieving below-average qualifications.
Age structure: 19.0% of the population under 19
20.0% of the population over 64
Proportion of population on social security: 16.0%[2]
Proportion of foreigners in population: 14.0%
Economic structure
Structural change has resulted in a loss of the traditional jobs in the port industry. The economic activity is now concentrated on retailing and small-scale commerce. At the same time, the quality and diversity of supply is deteriorating, and there is a loss in the supply of higher-value goods and services in the relevant suburbs.
Unemployment rate: 14.8%
Of which long-term unemployed: 40.0%
Of which unemployed aged under 25: 10.5%
Employment structures:
Predominantly small-scale commerce and retailing to meet the day-to-day needs of the resident population for goods and services.
Urban planning situation
The assisted area can be categorised as:
· Dense residential areas (suburb of Lehe: predominantly older buildings; suburb of Mitte: predominantly post-war buildings);
· Some waste industrial and commercial sites at the New Harbour;
· The riverside area along the Geeste with waste areas formerly used by shipyards and open green areas (some with pollution problems).
Infrastructure
Transport links:
The assisted area is generally well connected to the urban bus system; most of the main roads have cycle paths.
Social infrastructure:
The assisted area has a sufficient number of local infrastructure facilities, including numerous culture and leisure establishments, some of which are of significance for the whole region and even beyond. However, there is generally no exchange or specific co-operation with the local players in the assisted area.
Environmental quality
The assisted area has a below-average proportion of private and publicly accessible green areas; there is no integrated biotope system of any size. There is also a high level of pollution from through traffic on the roads; on the east-west axis, the "Mitte" central Autobahn feeder cuts across the area, and on the north-south axis, the related distributor roads cut through the area.
Air pollution: no data
Proportion of green areas: 19%
Proportion of area covered by buildings: 64% built on for residential purposes
Proportion of area used for transport: 17%
Pollution
Due to the industrial past, certain parts of the programme area are polluted or believed to be polluted.
Measures already carried out / Networking with other programmes
The URBAN II programme aims to latch on to the City of Bremerhaven's urban development concepts. Redeploying the river-bank sites formerly used by shipyards for commercial, service and residential purposes will also stimulate significant development in the assisted area. The priorities of the programme supplement the above-mentioned activities and support the long-term aim of mastering the structural change.
Overview of the priorities and measures of the URBAN programme
The programme priorities summarise the various major projects and project ideas which are important for the future development of the assisted area. In order to ensure that the objectives of the URBAN II programme can be achieved as well as possible, the various priorities have been given different rankings for the allocation of the support funding.
Priority 1: Economic development
(Total cost € 11.261 million, of which € 5.630 million ERDF)
The measures summarised in this programme priority chiefly aim to alleviate the consequences of structural change in the economy of the assisted area by bringing about a fresh orientation which is viable in the long term.
Measure 1.1: Technology promotion – Technology Park flagship project
(Total cost € 10.237 million, of which € 5.118 million ERDF)
Objective of the measure
The establishment of a technology park is intended to initiate and develop technology-intensive sectors in order to encourage new start-ups and more employment in these sectors. The measure aims to put in place optimum conditions for the creation and sustainable development of technology-intensive and high-growth sectors. At the same time, there is to be a (re-)integration of the river Weser and the former port into the assisted area, with a view to enhancing the residential quality, developing the standard of living and realising the "living and working by the waterside" concept in the assisted area.
Description of the measure
The measure consists of the establishment of a technology park on disused commercial wasteland at the New Harbour, which creates possibilities to relocate and attract firms from technology-intensive sectors, in order to improve the situation in the assisted area by utilising exogenous and endogenous potential. A Technology Park Management is set up to support and foster the new start-ups, and it will co-operate closely with the suburb management (measure 1.2) and the Lehe Activity Centre (measure 2.1). This co-operation is intended to achieve the best possible networking of the technology park and its companies with the rest of the assisted area and the activities taking place there.
Target group and expected effects
The target group consists of people starting up new businesses and spin-offs in the field of information and communication technologies and the media.
It is expected that there will be an increase in the number of jobs and new businesses in the environs of the centre, i.e. an improvement in Bremerhaven's attractiveness for business. Also, a positive impact on the environment is expected, since the centre's new building is located on reactivated wasteland.
Measure 1.2: Suburb management
(Total cost € 1.024 million, of which € 0.512 million ERDF)
Objective of the measure
The measure aims to increase identification with the assisted area and to improve its image and quality by means of diverse measures of suburb management. Also, a healthy blend of economic sectors should be established and an attractive centre developed alongside the inner city.
Description of the measure
In order to achieve an economic, social and cultural revitalisation of the assisted area, a suburb management system is to be built up to focus on "economic revitalisation". The intention is to support the residents and local businesses in identifying, formulating and resolving local problems and to co-ordinate the ensuing initiatives in an effective and targeted manner. The suburb management services include advice, market development and additional services and applications for business people and residents.
Target group and expected effects
This measure is intended to reach the residents and business people in the assisted area. Most of the businesses are SMEs in various sectors, mainly trade and catering. There are also other institutions, such as clubs.
The expectation is the creation of a healthy blend of sectors and the attraction of new companies to the area, thus enhancing the area's residential quality.
Priority 2: Labour market and social affairs
(Total cost € 4.215 million, of which € 2.107 million ERDF)
The measures envisaged under this priority are focused on the problems and particularly affected target groups in the suburbs covered by the assisted area; they form a link to the "Economic Development" priority, with its Technology Park flagship project, and to the "Urban Renewal and Ecology" priority.
Measure 2.1: Training and new businesses
(Total cost € 2.930 million, of which € 1.465 million ERDF)
Objective of the measure
The objective is to improve the skills of disadvantaged residents and of business people, thereby stimulating the local economy. By implementing various needs-based training and start-up projects for different target groups, the endogenous potential of the local players is to be reinforced.
Description of the measure
In the case of this measure, the core element is the establishment of an organisational structure which permits a networking and optimisation of the skills-related and start-up-related activities for the assisted area. To this end, the Activity Centre Lehe (ACL) is planned; it is to be located together with the suburb management in the centre of the city area. By providing closer proximity to those affected and taking the activities away from the large administrative units of the labour office and the welfare office, access to the support services is to be made more user-friendly, and their effectiveness and efficiency is to be enhanced. Furthermore, various individual projects are envisaged in the fields of training and start-ups, such as training measures for business people, projects to improve vocational prospects for the (long-term) unemployed in fields of work related to the locality, technology-oriented training projects and measures to improve the participation of women in working life.
Target group and expected effects
The target groups are people starting up new businesses from all sections of the population, as well as the unemployed, the long-term unemployed, people living on social assistance, and women.
It is hoped that this measure will reduce the unemployment rate in the assisted area and stimulate the economy via new start-ups. The impact on equality of opportunity should be assessed positively, since this aspect in particular is being promoted.
Measure 2.2: Social measures in the assisted area
(Total cost € 1.285 million, of which € 0.642 million ERDF)
Objective of the measure
The aim of the measure is to boost partnerships between relevant institutions in the field of employment promotion and to implement social work projects relating to children and young people as well as to employment for former drug addicts. The aim is to make a decisive contribution towards improving the social situation of the children and young people, to prevent people from sliding into crime and drug-taking, to develop new leisure opportunities, and to provide an orientation towards training and work. For former drug addicts and those on substitution programmes, the aim is to achieve social and vocational integration and to include them in the labour market.
Description of the measure
The plan is to implement various low-threshold employment projects and additional services in the field of child and youth welfare. In order to support and further develop the child and youth welfare work, and the work with former drug addicts and those on substitution programmes, various co-ordinated projects are to be implemented.
Target group and expected effects
Children and young people, and drug addicts and former drug addicts can be regarded as the target group.
The expectation is an increased level of integration of the target groups, which will contribute towards an improvement in the living and working conditions for all residents and business people in the assisted area.
Priority 3: Urban renewal / ecology
(Total cost € 3.708 million, of which € 1.854 million ERDF)