Response by Region Hannover to the EU Commission Green Paper on Territorial Cohesion`Turning territorial diversity into strength´

February 2009

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CoNTENTs

1. Foreword ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 4

2. The networked city region as action level for regional cooperation …………………………………………… 5

3. Region Hannover as a model for integrated sectoral and territorial local government organisation …………………………………………………………… 7 3.1 Oganisation of Hannover Region ………………………………………………………………………………… 7 3.2 The Region Hannover vision for territorial and sectoral cohesion ……………………………………… 9

4. Coordination of territorial and sectoral cooperation in the Hannover region ………………………………… 11 4.1 Polycentric development …………………………………………………………………………………………11 4.2 Protection of natural resources as regional responsibility …………………………………………………14 4.3 Integrated mobility policy as a contribution to regional cohesion ………………………………………17 4.4 Regional cohesion policy in business and employment promotion ……………………………………19

5. City regions as innovative solutions for European cohesion policy …………………………………………… 26 5.1 The definitional approach ……………………………………………………………………………………………26 5.2 The city region as an integrated solution ……………………………………………………………………26 5.3 Cooperation and coordination ……………………………………………………………………………………26

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1. FoREwoRd

rastructure, society and environment and thus promote integrative development. Region Hannover ensures par-ticipation by local people and creates the basis for local citizens being able to use regional conditions to their best advantage. Through integrated procedures and collabo-ration between various public agencies and stakeholders – as depicted in the Green Paper – efficient solutions can be developed in many problem areas better than any superordinate body.

This response to the EU Commission Green Paper aims to explicate the advantages of a coherent city region like the Hannover Region for integrated development in the spirit of the Lisbon and Gothenburg Agendas. After an introduction to the structure of Region Hannover as a new organisational form, the coordination of territorial and sectoral cooperation will be described, taking the examples of spatial planning, environmental and clima-te protection policy, mobility, business and employment promotion. In conclusion, proposals are made on how the EU could promote cooperation between local, regi-onal and national government bodies on the issue of territorial cohesion.

“Turning territorial diversity into strength” is the central message of the Green Paper on Territorial Cohesion in the European Union. EU Commission policy aims at “ensuring a harmonious development of all places”. Through which approaches this should be achieved is the question that, in the course of the Green Paper process, should be ans-wered by European stakeholders. In this era of globali-sation and networking, the causes of territorial cohesion problems are multi-layered and interdependent. Corres-pondingly, approaches to solutions at national, regional and local government level cannot be one-dimensional but must, as the authors of the Green Book rightly show, follow an integrated approach to territorial and sectoral measures. This requires new political and organisational forms between all stakeholders at various levels.

The Region Hannover authority (henceforth Region Han-nover to distinguish it from the Hannover Region as its geographical area), in existence since 2001, offers an in-novative model for ensuring territorial cohesion at local government level. The actors have the necessary tools to adjust in a sustainable way settings of business, inf-

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2. THE NETwoRkEd CiTy REGioN As

ACTioN lEvEl FoR REGioNAl CooPERATioN

met at various and shifting locations according to indivi-dual preferences. The one-dimensional and strongly hi-erarchical core city-hinterland relationship that had long dominated monocentric conurbations at least has been replaced by a differentiated functional system of various-ly competent and tendentially specialist sub-areas and locations with many interwoven relationships. Not only the bulky and unpopular infrastructure projects like freight centres and landfill sites for waste are dependent in the administrative sense on locational alternatives outside the ‘city’; for a long time now, trans-central functions such as airports, trade fairs, offices and shopping centres have located there. The fact of the matter is that today’s core city administrative borders are generally speaking the more-or-less arbitrary result of political compromi-ses during the last local government and public service function reforms.

Correspondingly with the changing spatial structures, in the functionally tightly networked system of a city region, the role and self-perception of the individual municipality have shifted; their self-confidence and ex-pectations grow in proportion to the extent that they contribute to the functioning of the larger area. In re-cent decades, particularly those municipalities within the immediate sphere of the core city have asserted them-selves in their dealings with the ‘big neighbour’. After the first phases of suburbanisation and/or city region functional differentiation, in which they generally took on only single functions within the larger pattern (hou-sing, commercial estates, intrusive infrastructure, local recreation), their functional diversity and mix has incre-ased markedly. While the lack of urban design capability in the ‘Zwischenstadt’ is (rightly) criticised, in these mu-nicipalities over the last two decades there has been a clearly perceptible trend towards setting stronger urban design accents intended to reinforce the community’s self-confidence and to rectify at least the most outrage-ous urban design monstrosities of the years of growth. Particular attention is paid to creating multifunctional city and town centres, thus creating ways for local people to identify with them and enhancing the appeal to the po-litically and psychologically important purchasing power that is plainly so important to urban centres. What are actually ‘urban’ cultural amenities are also, at least to a certain extent, evolved outside the core city. ‘Urbanity in suburbia’ has long lost its self-contradictory resonance.

Throughout Europe, large cities and their spheres of in-terdependency are human settlement concentrations and driving forces of economic development: home to all classes of society, foci of industry, trade and servi-ces, locations of research facilities and transfer interfaces along with multifarious cultural amenities and breeding grounds for artistic and cultural endeavour. These loca-tional qualities are not concentrated solely in the core city but are, to varying extents and in various ways, re-presented across the entire city region. The major post-war urban expansion projects broke the borders of the core cities and made the transition from urban to subur-ban space fluid. For their part, the former hinterland mu-nicipalities exploited the advantages of their proximity to the city for their own growth. Core city and surrounding communities grew together into a city region.

dissolution of the ‘city – hinterland’ juxtapositionThe terminological juxtaposition of ‘city’ and ‘hinterland’ cannot be applied in the same way as formerly because it is neither realistic nor functional: not realistic, because it implies a one-sided dependency that has been long been defunct; not functional, because – independently of the actual economic or settlement structure conditions – it is oriented exclusively on political-administrative structures and excludes inner differentiation according to social structure or the dominant milieus of built env-ironment or cultural life. It is not the ‘core city’ and ‘the hinterland’ that constitute the functional components of a ‘city region’ system; it is much more the case that the most various functions and locations, linked by road, rail and supply line systems, constitute a physical and immaterial network with innumerable functional inter-relationships and interdependencies that together cons-titute the city region. For these reasons, the 21st-century European city with its sphere of influence can only be understood in all its complexity as a networked city re-gion offering space for a differentiated spectrum of built and settlement structures, or forms of living facilities and community life.

The city region as a differentiated functional systemIn a realistic consideration of the city region as a sys-tem, one can assume increasingly regional behavioural patterns and lifestyles adopted by people within city re-gions. As a matter of course, the multifarious needs of life (work, housing, shopping, recreation, education) are

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gitimised. While the city region is primarily to be seen as a strategic level, the operative units can be very individually constituted as regards legal form and geographical area of responsibility. As a ‘holding structure’ with a powerful and democratically legitimised political decision-making body for the entire city region, operative implementation is es-sentially decentralised and possible through various (public and private) legal and organisational forms. Different geo-graphical responsibilities for individual operative units are also fundamentally conceivable.

In the light of a transition from traditional municipal struc-ture to city regional networks, the question arises of the core city’s role within the city region. In fact, the term, ‘core city’ will have to be understood in a more differentiated way and more precisely conceived. Cities, i.e., usually the historic old towns with their late 19th century additions, are generally seen as the main nodal points. They are further of great importance as historically embodying the identity of the entire city region. If, however, they are to have more than symbolic value, they must combine this with excel-lent commercial and cultural amenities, good transport connections and a sophisticated urban atmosphere.

The future of the city regionIf city regions are to be sustainable and viable into the future, it is essential to apprehend and respond to trends in human behaviour and lifestyle, without abandoning the claim to exert democratically legitimised influence in the sense of spatial development oriented not in single inte-rests but on the common good. In the field of planning it is important, in this spirit, to promote network structures without forgetting the special functions of network nodes in the course of establishing dispersed emphases. In the political-administrative field it is primarily a matter of ma-king a clear distinction, with regard to the respective fields of responsibility and the financing of the entire regional development, from the local decision-making and action level, and to do justice to both levels. Further development of administrative structures towards a truly two-level local government constitution (on the one hand the city regi-on, on the other the town and rural district authorities) is thereby of crucial significance. Essential to this will be that the city regional political level is democratically legitimised while seeing itself primarily as a level for strategic plan-ning, while the operative units are constituted very indi-vidually with regard to their legal forms and geographical areas of responsibility.

The city region is reflecting the expansion of a population’s radius of action, and the increasingly regionalised locati-onal decisions of enterprises and businesses that pay no heed to municipal boundaries, put new demands on plan-ners and politicians:

• Stronger consultation between the core city and sur- rounding municipalities• Devising common visions on city region development• Reaching a common understanding on coping with sub-

urbanisation and reurbanisation trends, and with various city region challenges such as migration, demographic change, intraregional disparities and climate protection

• Using existing and possibly creating new binding regio-nal planning and control instruments

• New conflict resolution and compensatory mechanisms• Regional governance on the basis of equality.

The city region as a political and administrative levelThe city region is a networked system including the core city, hinterland municipalities and city regional stakehol-ders from business, science and research and civil society. To assert and secure its position as a city region in the face of increasingly globalised competition it needs, along with the appropriate planning instruments for regional planning and regional development initiatives, most importantly an appropriate administrative form as an association of the city region’s municipal authorities along with its own poli-tical level. This is necessary if it is to organise common city regional tasks on its own responsibility, on a basis of trust and, in cases of conflict, resolutely and resiliently. Even a networked city region cannot function without effective self-regulatory measures that are applied partly centrally, partly decentrally, and that all together are responsible for the smooth functioning of the city region network and its components.

A city region’s own directly elected political body offers a chance for regional problem solving independently of local self-centredness and obligations. That is to say, in the political-administrative field the priority is to differentiate between regional (i.e. city regional) and local levels of decision-making and action. Both levels need their own structures and financial resources. That the administrative structure evolves further towards a two-level local govern-ment constitution is thus of crucial importance. It is essen-tial that the city region political level is democratically le-

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3. REGioN HANNovER As A modEl FoR iNTEGRATEd sECToRAl

ANd TERRiToRiAl loCAl GovERNmENT oRGANisATioN

tals, waste management services and other municipal enterprises). To meet its responsibilities, in 2009 Region Hannover has a budget of around 1.2 billion € of which about 60% was provided by the federal state of Nieder-sachsen and 40% came from levies on the urban and rural authorities within the Region proportional to their tax incomes.

Region Hannover brings together all important responsibilitiesIn what follows, some of the essential aspects of Region Hannover’s range of responsibilities and public services are described.• One central concern in setting up a regional authority

was to reinforce the sense of solidarity that is abo-ve all expressed in financing social welfare. Since its establishment Region Hannover has been responsible for managing social security payments in the entire geographical area. This means that the necessary pay-

3.1 oRGANisATioN oF HANNovER REGioN

Since 2001 Region Hannover has constituted a common political and administrative body for the city and state capital of Hannover and its immediate sourrounding area, a body whose competences are considerably more extensive than any other regional institution in German conurbations and which may also be seen as exemplary at European level. It brings together all the essential regional responsibilities for public services within an agglomeration covering around 2,300 square km with a population of 1.1 million. Region Hannover was established by regional state statute as an county of 21 municipalities county; this reform project was initiated and prepared by local government officers. The swiftness and smoothness with which Region Hannover was established can mainly be understood in the light of what had preceded it. As far back as 1963, Hanno-ver City Council and the local authorities in the Greater Hannover area began cooperating on the main issues of regional development (regional planning, local public transport, business promotion, local recreation) within a local government association, and thereby evolved an ethos of mutual understanding and trust that, even in cases of differing interests, made joint action on these issues possible. With the establishment of Region Hannover the Kommunalverband Großraum Hannover (Greater Hannover Local Government Association) and the Landkreis Hannover (County of Hannover) could be dissolved. The City of Hannover, formerly independent of the Hannover County, also transferred important responsibilities, especially hospitals, vocational schools, waste management and environmental protection, to Hannover Region. To this were added some respon-sibilities that had hitherto been met by the Federal State of Niedersachsen. Along with bringing together regional issues under one authority, this also achieved a slimming down of public administration with a clear assignment of responsibilities.

The regional assembly (Regionsversammlung), the poli-tical decision-making body, comprises 84 directly elected representatives from across the Hannover Region. From their number, the Regional executive committee (Regi-onsausschuss) is constituted, chaired by the President of Hannover Region. He or she is also directly elected, has a vote in the assembly and leads the regional adminis-tration with about 1,900 employees (excluding hospi-

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municipal environment authorities in Germany, with important decision-making and mediating functions within planning approval procedures. A waste ma-nagement concept for the entire agglomeration be-came possible with the merger of Hannover City and Region waste services; it is equally pleasing that the new waste management organisation ranks highly in any inter-regional comparison on level of services and charges. Region Hannover is also the regional planning authority and responsible for approval of municipal land-use plans. Planning, funding and supervision of regionally important recreational and leisure amenities (especially Hannover Zoo) is also a Region Hannover responsibility.

• Regional involvement in local public transport for Grea-ter Hannover goes back to the 1960s, and a municipal initiative in 1970 created the second transport ope-rators’ association in Germany. Today, Region Hanno-ver – and this is one of only a few cases anywhere in the Federal Republic – is the commissioning authority for all local road and rail public transport. This means that a single body can plan, politically decide upon and finance the entire local public transport provision. Region Hannover is also responsible for the construc-tion and maintenance of tramlines and has founded its own infrastructure company for this.

• Region Hannover also consolidates regional business and employment development. At operative level it can call on the Technologie-Centrum Hannover GmbH (TCH) business start-up support organisation and Han-nover Region Grundstücksgesellschaft (HRG) real esta-

ments are funded from the regional levy, to which the variously structured and prosperous municipalities wi-thin the Region contribute. This was associated with a clear acceptance of the City of Hannover as the centre of the Region, which was severely hampered by the financial burdens of social and young people’s welfare services.

• The establishment of Region Hannover also had far-reaching implications for the development of vocatio-nal schools, which were henceforth entirely managed and funded by the new authority. Within a short period it was possible to devise and approve a new region-wide vocational school concept with specialisations according to trade and business sectors. Implementing the concept improved the range and quality of courses while reducing the number of school locations from 19 to 16 and thus making significant financial savings.

• Region Hannover is the managing and financing autho-rity of all the hospitals that were formerly run by the City of Hannover and Landkreis Hannover; the merger made it one of the largest municipal hospital groups in Germany. Running the groups as a Ltd. makes it pos-sible to retain the hospitals within the public sector while being more flexible on the private sector market. Region Hannover places great importance on retaining all hospital locations across the entire Region – along with recognising patients’ rights to local provision this was also seen as a contribution to the Region’s structu-ral policy. Cost savings could be made through internal restructuring, while the most important aspect of the reorganisation is defining specialisations in medical services. In this connection it is worth mentioning that the municipal health departments were also merged with the establishment of Region Hannover, produ-cing additional synergy effects. Concurrently, Region Hannover improved its decentralised services such as youth health services and local psychiatric care.

• In the fields of environmental protection and spatial pl-anning, Region Hannover brings together very exten-sive planning, building approval and some operative responsibilities. With around 160 employees for nature conservation, water management, waste, soil protec-tion and emission controls, Region Hannover Environ-ment Division is one of the largest and most powerful

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exacerbate the differences between city and hinterland but that are shaped by superordinate considerations. Examples of this are the above-mentioned decisions to reorganise vocational schools and hospitals, the regional waste ma-nagement concepts, the joint marketing of Hannover City and Region and a consistent policy on resisting develop-ment of large-scale retail outlets on greenfield sites.

Although Region Hannover is generally approved of as a political body, greater efforts will be made to raise public awareness of its services and to secure and improve the quality of life for people in the Hannover Region. To this end, Region Hannover is extending and modernising regi-onally important leisure and recreation amenities such as Hannover Adventure Zoo and, in 2009, is running a major joint venture with the Region’s local authorities to highlight and enhance its garden qualities under the motto, ‘Garten-region Hannover 2009’.

3.2 THE REGioN HANNovER visioN FoR TERRiToRiAl ANd sECToRAl CoHEsioN

demographic changeAccording to the available population predictions, the Hannover Region can expect zero to very slight (1%) po-pulation growth through to 2015; population decline will set in later in the Hannover Region than in many other regions. Nevertheless, the Region is already facing pro-found demographic change, especially in the age profile: while the number of young adults is sinking, that of older people is rising. However, through to 2015 the ageing process, unlike previous developments, will be slower in the City of Hannover than in the other communities of the Region. This trend will have consequences for settle-ment development, the housing market, the job market, internal migration and especially for the location of and demand for public and private infrastructure facilities. A caring and supportive region Prosperity and social problems are unevenly distributed across the Region, with a higher concentration of deprived areas in its centre. Even so, it has proved possible to avert social polarisation to a large extent. For the future of the Region, preserving social stability is of crucial importance, and thus the dense network of social institutions and self-help facilities have a key role in the face of rapid social change. Not the marginalisation but the integration of dis-

te company. An agreement between Hannover Region and Hannover City Council in 2003 co-founded Hanno-verimpuls GmbH as the regional economic and em-ployment development campaign, based on a cluster approach. In the following year the Unternehmerbüro der Region Hannover (Hannover Region Enterprise Of-fice) was set up in close consultation with the Region’s 21 municipalities to facilitate contacts between busi-nesses and public authorities and especially to speed up licensing and authorisation procedures. At the be-ginning of 2007 Region Hannover also joined Hanno-ver-Marketing-Gesellschaft, dedicated to professional presentation of the entire Hannover Region.

Since 2008 the business development, regional mar-keting and tourism promotion activities of the City and the Region have been consolidated within the Hanno-ver-Holding organisation.

Among the other successful cooperation projects in the Hannover Region, mention should be made of the mer-ger between the Stadtsparkasse Hannover and Kreis-sparkasse Hannover under the aegis of Region Hanno-ver, creating one of the largest public savings banks in Germany. The spirit of cooperation also bore fruit in early 2006 when the City and Region fire prevention and re-scue services were amalgamated at a single location, since when all the fire brigades in the Region have been organised into a single association.

Taking stock after eight yearsEight years after Region Hannover was established, it can be said that bringing together the most important responsibilities for the cohesion and future development of Region Hannover has worked well. As the few examp-les given show, the synergy effects of the new structure are also clear, and when one considers the quality and vitality of cooperation between the City and Region and in the municipal ‘family’ as a whole, even though the starting situation was relatively good there have been marked improvements since. The crucial added value of creating a regional authority, however, should be consi-dered from the viewpoint of the directly-elected political level; members of the Regional Assembly have shown in several areas that regional problems and challenges can best be addressed by politicians who are responsible to and for the entire Region, and through policies that do not

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further challenges for land-use planning must be added ongoing expansion of the transport infrastructure, demand for wind farm sites and raw materials extraction along with pressure from recreational needs on open space and the countryside and the reutilisation of brownfield and open space. Responding to demographic change, existing hou-sing must be made available for younger people and retro-fitted to modern standards, while older people’s need for support and care requires a mixture of ages in residential areas.

supporting economic structural changeFor over twenty years now the Hannover Region has been experiencing fundamental structural change who-se external manifestations are predominantly the loss of jobs in traditional business sectors, especially manufac-turing industry. Ongoing globalisation and the continuing development of the service society means that one can expect further changes in the regional economic struc-ture because precisely those labour-intensive sectors of the Hannover Region economy such as manufacturing will be particularly hit hard by structural change. From the companies’ point of view, these radical changes will lead to a reassessment of their location strategies, and so the Region’s locational qualities and the specific po-tential will acquire a much stronger and ever-growing significance. If the Hannover Region is to assert itself in the face of national and international competition, its im-provement priorities must be high-grade infrastructure, business-oriented services, educational and scientific in-stitutions and the ‘soft location factors’. In the future, too, provision of suitable business sites will be crucial, this will intensify land-use conflicts, and regional planning will be called upon to exercise its development, monito-ring and conflict mediation competences.

advantaged groups is the basis of socially unifying regional development.

Gender mainstreaming Following the vision of spatial development that supports personal fulfilment and takes account of social demands on space, it is important within the responsibilities for spatial design and coordination to make a contribution to gender mainstreaming. For regional development this par-ticularly affects the areas of housing, work and provision of goods and services. Integrated settlement and transport development work on the principles of small-scale mixed use and short distances to facilities make a contribution to this. Through equipping residential areas with infrastruc-ture to meet the needs of older people and families and improving local public transport connections to workplaces, Region Hannover aims to enable women in particular to combine work and family life.

Furthermore, all decisions and measures within the Regio-nal Spatial Strategy are assessed on a gender basis for their potential consequences for both, men and women.

Resisting pressure on land as a resourceDespite almost stagnant population growth in the Region, all the signs are that pressure on land and the danger or further sprawling development will continue unabated. The persistent demand for housing comes from changing and more individualised ideas of accommodation, whereby the trend to more living space per person, to home owner-ship and to living close to the countryside is conspicuous. Demand from the private sector for locations with good transport connections and the trend in the retail sector to-wards much larger premises will also continue. To this, as

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inter-municipal and regional cooperationApart from regional concepts on e.g. local recreation and retail development, especially on issues of commercial, residential and open space development in the Hanno-ver Region there have so far been hardly any initiatives for inter-municipal cooperation and the distribution of functions. Not least the stricture on municipal budgets will require a better combination and coordination of re-sources on the one hand and local authorities playing to their specific strengths on the other – not every local authority will in future be able to provide commercial development land, leisure infrastructure and public ser-vices solely from its own resources. Cooperation with neighbouring authorities outside the Hannover Region such as within the City-Network EXPO-Region could also be extended.

Enhancing the Region’s image as a national and international locationIn a united and extended Europe, competition between regions will become even tougher. The Hannover Region is well prepared: its situation at the intersection of impor-tant European logistic axes from north to south and east to west must be exploited as a chance for the Region; for the EXPO 2000 World Exposition the regional infra-structure was substantially modernised and international awareness of the Region increased markedly. Neverthe-less, the Hannover Region’s image is still blurred in some areas; work has to be done on its Unique Selling Points such as the trade fair location and high levels of educati-on and training. Furthermore, in enhancing the Region’s image to place it alongside metropolitan regions of Euro-pean importance it will be crucial to network more stron-gly with the potential of the extended economic area i.e. the neighbouring district local government associations, the Greater Braunschweig area and the educational and scientific city of Göttingen, and to develop this potential into a convincing and distinctive unified identity.

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4.1 PolyCENTRiC dEvEloPmENT

Patterns of residential development in the Han-nover Region and their management in terms of spatial planningThe Hannover Region is home to around 1.1 million peo-ple in 21 towns and communities, of which the state ca-pital Hannover, with some 516,000 inhabitants, is by far the largest. The region is (from both the European and regional perspective) monocentric in nature, with the core city of Hannover as its focal point. Intraregional patterns of residential development are, however, influenced by all 21 towns and municipalities, which differ in both their population sizes and functions (see Map 1).

In terms of spatial planning, patterns of residential deve-lopment in the Hannover Region are managed using the model of ‘central places’ that was originally established in Germany. The rationale behind this three-tier system, in

Territorial cohesion in the European Union has been under discussion since the early 1990s, and has also influenced the emergence – and the purpose – of the European Spa-tial Development Perspective (ESDP, 1999). 2007 saw the adoption in Potsdam, by the ministers responsible for spatial development, of the ‘Territorial Agenda of the European Union’, which in this sense is a continuation of the ESDP. The ‘Territorial Agenda’ lists (inter alia) priori-ties for spatial development measures in the EU such as the innovative integration of metropolitan regions, muni-cipal regions and regional centres, the responsible use of ecological resources, and new forms of partnership and political cooperation. These aspects are dealt with and implemented by the regional authority set up in 2001 (see also Chapter 3). In consequence, Region Hannover has, through its various actions, already responded to many of the questions raised by the European Commissi-on in its green paper on territorial cohesion. How exactly this is happening is outlined below.

4. CooRdiNATioN oF TERRiToRiAl ANd

sECToRAl CooPERATioN iN THE HANNovER REGioN

4. Coordination of territorial and sectoral cooperation in the Hannover region

Territorial cohesion in the European Union has been under discussion since the early1990s, and has also influenced the emergence – and the purpose – of the EuropeanSpatial Development Perspective (ESDP, 1999). 2007 saw the adoption in Potsdam, bythe ministers responsible for spatial development, of the ‘Territorial Agenda of theEuropean Union’, which in this sense is a continuation of the ESDP. The ‘TerritorialAgenda’ lists (inter alia) priorities for spatial development measures in the EU such as theinnovative integration of metropolitan regions, municipal regions and regional centres, theresponsible use of ecological resources, and new forms of partnership and politicalcooperation. These aspects are dealt with and implemented by the regional authority setup in 2001 (see also Chapter 2). In consequence, Region Hannover has, through itsvarious actions, already responded to many of the questions raised by the EuropeanCommission in its green paper on territorial cohesion. How exactly this is happening isoutlined below, along with the resulting recommendations.

4.1 Polycentric development

Patterns of residential development in the Hannover Region and their

management in terms of spatial planning

The Hannover Region is home to around 1.1 million people in 21 towns and communities,of which the state capital Hannover, with some 516,000 inhabitants, is by far the largest.The region is (from both the European and regional perspective) monocentric in nature,with the core city of Hannover as its focal point. Intraregional patterns of residentialdevelopment are, however, influenced by all 21 towns and municipalities, which differ inboth their population sizes and functions (see Map 1).

Map 1: Patterns of residential development in the Hannover Region

Beschriftung zu Karte 1:

Regionales Raumordnungsprogramm2005

2005Regional Spatial Strategy

Raum-, Siedlungs und Freiraumstruktur Patterns of land use, residential development and greenspace

Map 1: Patterns of residential development in the Hannover Region

Rurally structured settlements with additional residential function

Residential areas

Green belt

Countryside and recreational areas

Rail routesBoundary of the Hannover Regionlocal authority boundaries

2005 Regional PlanPatterns of land use, residential development and greenspace

Higher-, middle and lower order centre

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In order to ensure that the Region can enjoy balanced and lasting development, and that further progress can be achieved in living conditions and opportunities for deve-lopment, Region Hannover has been assigned the statu-tory remit of regional planning. The most important instru-ment for this is the ‘Regional Plan’, which is revised every 10 years. This programme defines the intentions regarding spatial and structural planning and development for the Region as a binding legal norm for both national- and fe-deral state-level public authorities, as well as for district and local authorities. It is a plan which ensures that the efficiency and attractiveness of the existing, multi-tier set-up for public service provision is safeguarded and enhan-ced. The work of regional planning is a task that typically requires input from a wide range of sources and which, by means of the Regional Plan, involves devising an integra-ted spatial development strategy and drawing up guiding principles for the Region in which sectoral planning (inclu-ding spatial and transport planning, environmental, social and educational planning, and economic development) are interlinked and a regional policy environment promo-ting their implementation is created. The spatial strategies agreed upon provide the stakeholders involved, at both regional and local level, with a reliable basis on which national and European challenges (such as climate change and demographic change), as well as sustainable use of territorial conditions can be focused and dealt with.

An integral part of the management and enhancement of patterns of residential development within the Regional Plan are two sets of guiding principles relating to regional planning. One involves `decentralised concentration’, the aim being to ensure that the focal points for residen-tial development are the ‘central places’ described abo-ve (and primarily at central sites within these locations). The idea behind the second guiding principle, namely `integrated housing and transport planning’ (see also chapter 4.3), is to ensure that residential areas and work-place clusters arise where attractive local public transport services are already in place or can be created. Both of these approaches are instrumental in counteracting urban sprawl within the Region. In the interests of sustainable development, these instruments can be used to create a rational and equitable foundation for regional planning and land use on a lasting basis, with only a minimal im-pact on resources, and which helps safeguard and develop many varied, attractive and liveable centres in the towns and communities of the Hannover Region.

which places are categorised as higher-, middle- and lo-wer-order centres (Oberzentren, Mittelzentren and Grund-zentren respectively), is to achieve the spatial concentra-tion – on a hierarchical basis – of social, medical, cultural, economic and administrative facilities in order to secure adequate and well-balanced provision of public services to the population whilst also ensuring good accessibility (i.e. basic provision of public utilities and public services). This consolidation of provision ensures that the higher-, midd-le- and lower-order centres fulfil a wide range of functions in their role as a focal point for public life.

Together with the surrounding towns and communities of the Region, the higher-order centre of Hannover forms a highly interdependent economic area with a pronounced concentration of population and jobs. The functions per-formed by the 10 middle-order centres relate chiefly to housing, the job market, and provision of utilities and public services; they extend beyond providing merely for their own inhabitants within the municipal limits, resul-ting in close integration throughout (or across part of) the Region. The priority roles assumed within the Region by the middle-order centres, and by Hannover as the higher-order centre, involve safeguarding and developing hou-sing and places of work. The 10 lower-order centres have a public service mandate geared to their own municipal area, covering general, everyday basic needs. They are there to meet the requirements of the local population and employees. This system results in a marked division of functions and spreading of employment opportunities within the Region, enabling the different strengths and potential of the various communities to be successfully brought to bear within the regional context, so that the Region as a whole can generate competitive advantages. In addition to the functions and services described above, which are provided at local level, other important roles in the provision of public utilities and public services – inclu-ding local public transport, local recreation, business de-velopment, healthcare provision, vocational schools, and social and youth welfare services – are performed on re-gional level. These are provided either directly or through subsidiary organisations (as in the case of hospitals and waste management, for example). This regional dischar-ging of functions means that financial burdens are more equitably shared, as the funding is met by all the towns and municipalities throughout the Region and not only by individual authorities (i.e. regional balancing of advanta-ges and burdens is involved).

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Polycentric structure of the Hannover-Braunschweig-Göt-tingen-Wolfsburg Metropolitan Region

Collaboration in the Metropolitan Region happens on a voluntary basis; the aim of the inter-regional and cross-sectoral association is to enhance the area’s standing and image on the European market. In such collabora-tion, each area can contribute its particular strengths to make the entire Metropolitan Region more competitive. Conversely, strengthening the entire area enables the more rural and economically less well-situated areas to share in the benefits of economic prosperity. These synergy effects lead to mutually balanced overall deve-lopment. The aims are to be achieved mainly through work on projects oriented on a strategy formulated for the Metropolitan Region, in which all partners can work on an egalitarian basis.

Region Hannover as a model for city regional governanceThe spatial development described above lays, in a figu-rative sense, an important foundation stone for the eco-nomic development of the Hannover Region, the Han-nover-Braunschweig-Göttingen-Wolfsburg Metropolitan Region, the State of Lower Saxony, the Federal Republic

A crucial element for territorial cooperation in the Hanno-ver Region is that, when drawing up the Regional Plan, private and public stakeholders be included in both the creation and further development of regional land-use pat-terns. This is achieved through a very wide-scale process of participation in which the various players – including members of the public as well as federal state-level insti-tutions, local authorities and relevant associations – can be involved. Ultimately, this joint process promotes the noti-on of (and encourages new interpretations of) cooperation on land use, and the Regional Plan forms a framework for territorial cohesion within the Region.

inter-regional cooperation within the Hannover-Braunschweig-Göttingen-wolfsburg European metropolitan Region to complement the Hannover Region levelThe Green Paper’s introductory statement, “In a globa-lising and interrelated world economy, however, com-petitiveness also depends on building links with other territories to ensure that common assets are used in a coordinated and sustainable way.” is directly applicable to the Hannover agglomeration; Region Hannover also regards inter-regional cooperation as an important con-tributing factor to long-term sustainable growth, and for this reason is working within the Hannover-Braun-schweig-Göttingen-Wolfsburg Metropolitan Region with other cities, local authorities and district authorities in the State of Niedersachsen and with partners from sci-ence, education and business. This type of collaboration complements the formal institutional structures in the Hannover Region with the informal structures of the Me-tropolitan Region.

The Metropolitan Region extends some 150 km from north to south and 120 km from east to west, thus com-prising an area that is not dominated by one large cen-tral city but by economic regions centred on Hannover, Braunschweig, Göttingen (in southern Niedersachsen) and Wolfsburg. These sections consist of industry-influ-enced urban agglomerations but also of areas with rural structures.

Inter-regional cooperation within the Hannover-Braunschweig-Göttingen-

Wolfsburg European Metropolitan Region to complement the Hannover Region

level

The Green Paper’s introductory statement, “In a globalising and interrelated worldeconomy, however, competitiveness also depends on building links with other territoriesto ensure that common assets are used in a coordinated and sustainable way.” is directlyapplicable to the Hannover agglomeration; Region Hannover also regards inter-regionalcooperation as an important contributing factor to long-term sustainable growth, and forthis reason is working within the Hannover-Braunschweig-Göttingen-WolfsburgMetropolitan Region with other cities, local authorities and district authorities in the Stateof Niedersachsen and with partners from science, education and business. This type ofcollaboration complements the formal institutional structures in the Hannover Region withthe informal structures of the Metropolitan Region.

Polycentric structure of the Hannover-Braunschweig-Göttingen-Wolfsburg MetropolitanRegion

The Metropolitan Region extends some 150 km from north to south and 120 km from eastto west, thus comprising an area that is not dominated by one large central city but byeconomic regions centred on Hannover, Braunschweig, Göttingen (in southernNiedersachsen) and Wolfsburg. These sections consist of industry-influenced urbanagglomerations but also of areas with rural structures.

Collaboration in the Metropolitan Region happens on a voluntary basis; the aim of theinter-regional and cross-sectoral association is to enhance the area’s standing and imageon the European market. In such collaboration, each area can contribute its particularstrengths to make the entire Metropolitan Region more competitive. Conversely,strengthening the entire area enables the more rural and economically less well-situatedareas to share in the benefits of economic prosperity. These synergy effects lead tomutually balanced overall development. The aims are to be achieved mainly through workon projects oriented on a strategy formulated for the Metropolitan Region, in which allpartners can work on an egalitarian basis.

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the former Landkreis Hannover county local government association, the City of Hannover’s environmental protec-tion division and the nature conservation directorate at the former Bezirksregierung Hannover district authority.

Environmental protection, however, cannot and must not be restricted to official monitoring and the application of environmental law and standards; environmental pro-tection is also a creative task to be fulfilled with the help of and within the framework of the applicable statutes. This is immediately apparent, for example, in nature and landscape conservation and climate protection.

Within the Hannover Region there are 34 nature conserva-tion areas and 84 landscape conservation areas covering a total of over 100,000 hectares, more than 30% of the Region area. The number and extent of these protected areas show clearly the importance that Region Hannover attaches to conserving the natural resources essential to life. Of course, this is not achieved without conflicts; the task of Region Hannover – also as the competent autho-rity for the Regional Plan (see 4.1) – is to strike a balance between the justified interests of local authorities in mo-derate settlement development, agricultural land uses, and conserving these natural resources. A climate protection framework programme for a 40% reduction in Co

2 emissions by 2020

Proactive environmental protection must also be compre-hended as an indispensable part of sustainable develop-ment in the spirit of the AGENDA 21 and the Gothenburg Agenda, and address issues that are not traditionally the responsibility of environmental protection and for which there is no direct statutory mandate for Region Hanno-ver. This applies especially to climate protection.

of Germany and also the European Union, based as it is on the effective and efficient system of the European urban structure. If it is possible to give this structure a balanced and organisationally resilient basis at city regi-on level then, through the entire intraregional work but also through the delegation of work within the region, further potential can be exploited to achieve the aims set in Lisbon and Gothenburg. This requires even stronger cooperation, networking and concentration in the Euro-pean Regions.

As described in the preceding and following chapters, praxis-oriented and visionary spatial development can make an effective contribution to territorial cohesion at city region level. The path via the strengthening of Euro-pean regions leads to the strengthening of the competi-tiveness of the EU as a whole and can raise and promote the available potential in each region. As responsibility for spatial development will certainly remain with the EU member states, exchanges and orientation on good practice should continue to be striven for by proven and successful ways and means such as INTERREG. In this, Region Hannover should not be seen as a universally applicable ‘standard solution’ and is not generally trans-ferable to all European regions. This would disregard the territorial, historical and legal conditions of the respective areas. The Region Hannover model, however, does offer itself as a best practice example for the institutionalisati-on of European city regions.

4.2 PRoTECTioN oF NATURAl REsoURCEs As A REGioNAl REsPoNsiBiliTy

Region Hannover is the largest local government environmental authority in Germany.Establishment of the Hannover Region offered the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to assign all the executive env-ironmental protection responsibilities, of both the lower and higher environmental protection authorities, to the Region Hannover authority. In the Region, the workload of environmental protection tasks and duties is large enough to justify maintaining a permanent scientific and technical staff to discharge these responsibilities ef-fectively. The Region Hannover environment division is the largest local government environmental authority in Germany. Its more than 150 employees transferred to the environment division at Region Hannover from the departments of nature conservation, water and waste at

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heating energy demand (approx. 3%) despite a 16% in-crease in total living area, a marked increase in electricity consumption, a strong increase in the proportion of he-ating by gas and district heating instead of oil, a decline in off-peak electricity demand of around 2/3 and a very large rise in electricity generation from renewable fu-els. These are the areas on which the climate protection framework programme will be concentrating.

To meet this target, the main thrust of activities in recent years has been the construction of wind turbine farms, which today are a striking feature of many parts of the Region countryside as flagships of renewable energy, along with photovoltaic installation and geothermal ex-ploitation. Currently, efforts are being increased to ex-ploit the biomass potential in the Hannover Region as a

The increasing frequency of extreme weather events in recent years is a clear indication that global warming as provoked by the greenhouse effect can lead to climate catastrophe if nothing is done to combat it. Effective cli-mate protection through reducing CO

2 emissions cannot

be achieved solely by state directive, nor by municipal action; what is required is collaboration by all social actors i.e. involving all individuals, public and private sector or-ganisations on whose actions or changes in habits the re-duction in CO

2 emissions depends. The public sector takes

the role of a guarantor for the fulfilment of this task; it must ensure that climate protection measures are plan-ned and organised, and that projects are supervised.

Region Hannover has recognised this, and sets an em-phasis on climate protection in its proactive environment policies. The basis for this is a climate protection frame-work programme, currently under discussion, that aims to reduce CO

2 emissions by 40% by the year 2020.The

framework programme proceeds from a CO2 audit for the

entire Region, according to which around 11.1 tonnes (Mg/a) of climate-altering greenhouse gases per Hanno-ver Region resident were emitted in 2005. The principal emitter was the energy sector (73% of total emissions) and transport (21%), followed by waste management and agriculture (4 Mg/a and 2 Mg/a). Comparing the audits from 1990 and 2005 show a slight decrease in

73%

2%

4%

21%

CO2 audit of total emissions: 12.5 million Mg/a (11.1 Mg/a per head of population)

Agriculture

waste

Traffic

Energy

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region’ (Klimaschutzregion Hannover) programme they pursue a common strategy on reducing CO2 emissions by the consistent use of renewable energy sources instead of fossil fuels, combined with rational energy utilisation. The strategy is implemented through the stakeholders’ own, agreed activities and the jointly owned subsidiaries Klimaschutzfonds proKlima (climate protection fund) and Klimaschutzagentur Region Hannover.

Since 2001 „Klimaschutzagentur Region Hannover GmbH“ (Hannover Region climate protection agency) has brought together all the regional climate protection activities and further enhanced the role of climate pro-tection as an economic driving force in the region. It pro-vides information to private enterprise and individuals in the Hannover Region, and as an initiator and creator of impetus in politics and business, the non-profit agency works with partners in the fields of bioenergy, solar ener-gy, wind power, cogeneration, energy efficiency for busi-nesses, retrofitting residential property, electricity saving and environmentally friendly mobility for various client and target groups.

The agency is supported by its shareholders: Region Han-nover and City of Hannover Council, energy suppliers and prestigious companies, along with a support association comprising over 50 more enterprises and institutions. The investment impetus generated by the agency’s wi-de-ranging activities benefits residents and companies in the region, public amenities and communities. Extensive public relations and publicity work, networking and liai-son with social players, media and citizens constitutes the basis of the agency’s successful campaign work; with brochures and flyers, public and high-profile events and an internet portal, it opens up the issues of climate pro-tection to a broad audience.

The agency, along with all stakeholders, aims to introdu-ce uses of renewable energy sources, energy saving and efficient technologies such as Combined Heat and Power on the marketplace as quickly and broadly as possible. The investment impetus that this generates is a strong contribution to business development, and in this way the agency’s work offers visionary ways of combining economic growth and environmental development.

renewable energy source, either in one of over 20 biogas plants or, in future, to make synthetic fuels. Guidelines for this have been drawn up and agreed by all stakeholders. Additionally, more uses of pellet and woodchip fuelled heating plants, and of heat pumps, are being promoted.

Award for the new Region Hannover administration buildingThe Region Hannover administration also sets a good ex-ample: construction of the new administration building was the first project to implement the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology’s ‘Energy-optimised buil-ding’ standard. The combination of high ecological ex-pectations and tight financial constraints is exceptional; at no additional cost, the building uses around half the energy of a comparable conventional building. The new Regionshaus, with office space for 300 Region Hanno-ver employees, is a much-admired project in professi-onal circles. The Federal Minister for Transport, Building and Urban Affairs and the President of the „Deutsche Gesellschaft für nachhaltiges Bauen“ (German sustaina-ble building association) awarded the project the Gold Sustainable Building Certificate. With this building Region Hannover has assumed a vanguard role; this was the first time that the certificate for exceptionally sustainable and energy-efficient construction had been awarded.

Cooperation on climate protection policyAnother exemplary aspect of climate protection poli-cy is the close cooperation between Region Hannover, Hannover City Council and the Stadtwerke Hannover AG energy utility; within the ‘Hannover climate protection

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Ensuring sustainable mobility provision To meet the challenges of European competition and main-tain the economic strengths of the regions, high quality transport is essential. Concurrently, it is important to en-sure a good quality of life in the long term for the around 1.1 million people living in the Hannover Region. The aims of integrated transport development planning are, on the one hand, to meet the needs of the Region as a business location and, on the other hand, to minimise nuisance and pollution from traffic and make transport environmentally and socially compatible. For this, it is necessary to devise a high-capacity and compatible transport infrastructure for the long term and ensure good connections between the towns of the Region and to the city of Hannover.

Securing mobility oriented on sustainability is an impor-tant responsibility for the future of the Hannover Region. The aim is to enable all sections of society to participate in its social, economic and cultural life on a long-term basis and, where necessary, to make such participation easier. Developing transport policy strives to raise the proportion of journeys using the ‘environmental alliance’ (on foot, cycling and local public transport). Diverse mobility needs, the interplay between settlement and transport planning, and also the negative effects of transport provision, de-mand coordinated regional action.

Advantageous transport locationThe Hannover Region is centrally situated, both within Ger-many and in Europe, and comprises an important trans-port node at the intersection of high-capacity north-south and east-west European road, rail and air routes. Its direct connection to German and European inland waterways via the Mittellandkanal through the heart of the region com-pletes its excellent transport infrastructure.

integrated transport development planning; coordinating transport-related activities within a regional contextEstablishment of Region Hannover brought together regi-onal planning, local public transport and local roads within the responsibility of the new administration, creating an excellent organisational framework for applying integra-ted planning approaches to transport. This corresponds perfectly with the integrated approach and collaboration between various authority stakeholders and actors advo-cated by the Green Paper.

4.3 iNTEGRATEd moBiliTy PoliCy As A CoNTRiBUTioN To REGioNAl CoHEsioN

A good mobility structure in the Hannover RegionWhether on foot, by bicycle, bus, train or tram, or private car – it is simple and easy to get around in the Hannover Region. The special quality of local mobility comes partly from single innovative measures but above all from a well-functioning overall concept created from the inter-action and coordination of all components. Starting from integrated transport planning that particularly supports and optimises environmentally compatible means of transport, a mobility scenario has developed that meets both economic concerns and the interests of local peop-le. Region Hannover will continue, in a spirit of construc-tive self-criticism, to maintain this mobility structure to a high standard and to make further improvements.

A unified vision for settlement and transport – exemplary integration of regional and transport planningThe principle that settlement and transport are one and the same issue has been an essential element of spa-tial development policy in the Hannover Region since the first Regional Plan was drawn up in 1967. The 2005 Regional Plan takes up the principles of its predecessors: new residential areas, employment concentrations and infrastructure amenities should be built (and mostly have been built) where an attractive public transport service is available or can be created. The best conditions are offered by settlement concentration near a tram stop or S-Bahn regional railway station.

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To enhance the attractiveness of local public transport and increase its share of total journeys, further expansion measures and additions to the service are planned. In the Hannover Region, responsibility for local public trans-port planning has been concentrated in one body for the last 40 years; the result is a consistently high standard of local public transport provision.

Cycling still has a ‘way to go’.For many years, Region Hannover has worked to pro-mote cycling: with its systematically developed and har-monised concepts, on the one hand it aims to create an attractive and safe infrastructure for everyday travel in order to raise the share of cycle journeys in the overall modal split, and on the other hand to offer local, regional and inter-regional leisure and tourist cyclists an attractive choice of routes.

Despite shortage of funds, much has been achieved in promoting cycling in the Hannover Region. The proporti-on of journeys by bicycle in Hannover itself, 13%, is bet-ter than the modal split of comparable cities. Optimising the framework conditions will continue to create a cycle-friendly environment in the Region and promote cycling as an environmentally friendly means of transport.

A good infrastructure for road trafficIn general, the existing inter- and intraregional road net-work provides adequate connections to and within the Hannover Region. Essentially, the Region’s roads radiate from the core city of Hannover, complemented by high-capacity tangential connections. New road developments will only be considered in the light of the consequences of demographic change and the prospect of stagnating or decreasing private car volumes, if road safety is thre-atened, or if the quality of life and the surroundings can

Shaping and controlling transport in the Hannover Regi-on happens within the framework of integrated trans-port development planning. The measures of this goal-oriented overall transport planning impinge on traffic reduction, transferring journeys to more environmentally friendly transport modes and reducing the impact of un-avoidable traffic. If mobility is to be delivered in an en-vironmentally friendly way whatever the future frame-work conditions, and the attractiveness of towns and communities as habitats and economic locations is to be retained, close cooperative action between all transport stakeholders is essential.

A high standard of local public transportThe local public road and rail transport system in the Hannover Region has been developed into an attrac-tive alternative to private car use. Inauguration of the local heavy rail system (S-Bahn) in 2000, especially, re-presented a major advance in service quality; modern rolling stock, welcoming stations with good disabled ac-cess and improved timetables make it the flagship of passenger-friendly local transport. Today, all the larger and medium-sized urban centres, and also the commu-nities around the Hannover Region, are connected by a good-quality rail network. Between 1994 and 2006, the S-Bahn saw a 34% increase in passenger numbers and the entire local rail network recorded a 42% increase. Within Hannover city, the tram/subway is the main pub-lic transport system, complemented by guaranteed mini-mum bus services that provide frequent and regular con-nections (at least every two hours and at peak periods hourly services into the local centre and to Hannover) on bus routes between the Region’s towns and villages and into Hannover.

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High-capacity andcity-compatible freight and commercial trafficThe logistic quality of the Region is particularly influenced by connectivity and networking of the existing transport infrastructures and operator, and by logistic capacities. With the A7 (north-south) and A2 (east-west) motorways, its location on the rail and waterways network and Han-nover - international airport, Hannover Region is very well connected by all transport modes. The Region has all the important logistic nodes to network transport operators and connect to other economic zones.

Air travel with prospectsIn 2008, Hannover - Airport processed 5.8 million passen-gers, ranking it among the eight most important airports in Germany. Ground connections are exceptionally good, with a direct local heavy rail (S-Bahn) link and a road link to the inter-regional highways network. The capability to operate on two parallel take-off and landing runways gives Hannover Airport high operating capacity and very good development prospects for passenger and freight traffic. Landing and take-off flight paths were disposed according to noise and safety criteria and the settlement structure, so that noise and pollution nuisance to the lo-cal population is reduced or minimised.

successes of sustainable transport developmentThe success of over 40 years of coordinated action on re-gional spatial and transport planning is impressive: in the city of Hannover, over 70% and over 80% of workplaces are within walking distance of the S-Bahn local heavy rail and the tram/subway networks. Outside the city too, al-most 40% of the population can get to a railway station on foot. The tram network axes are today preferred loca-tions for service enterprises. All this is controlled and in-

be permanently improved, e.g., with a local by-pass. The Region’s traffic management centre has a central role in increasing the road capacity and guiding traffic, espe-cially for major events.

The traffic management centre – traffic control and informationIn the Hannover Region, the establishment of a joint traf-fic management centre as far back as the late 1990s signified the first step towards cross-modal transport management (see www.move-info.de). This centre cur-rently accommodates the operations centres of two of the Hannover Region’s public transport operators and the private transport control centre for Lower Saxony, Hannover Region. Even though the EDP systems are not yet connected, the controllers and traffic managers sit in the same room and can consult whenever necessary. Additionally the centre has a data connection to the DB rail control centre in Hannover, with access to current timetable information.

The traffic management centre (Verkehrsmanagement-zentrale, VMZ) provides traffic control services and traffic information for the whole of Lower Saxony and espe-cially for the Hannover Region, providing Hannover police with traffic warning in the region, controlling the City of Hannover dynamic parking guidance system (including the exhibition grounds) and functioning as operations centre for Lower Saxony highways construction adminis-tration. On certain sections of the main road network traffic is controlled with the help of dynamic direction displays, while internet, Traffic Message Channel and ra-dio are available to drivers before and during journeys. The operations centres of the public transport providers are responsible for coordinating tram and bus services in Hannover City and Region.

The existence of this shared control centre has also pro-vided the basis for various cross-modal research or de-monstration projects, making it a place for innovative transport projects.

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4.4 REGioNAl CoHEsioN PoliCy iN BUsiNEss ANd EmPloymENT PRomoTioN

As an economic location, the Hannover Region is domi-nated by the City of Hannover; the former capital of the Kingdom of Hannover is today the administrative, busi-ness and financial heart of the State of Niedersachsen. As an industrial location, services centre, trading and inter-national trade fair location, as well as a centre for science and research and a transport hub, the Region is one of Germany’s major economic centres.

Business sector structure and distributionThe business sector structure in the city of Hannover is clearly distinguishable from those of the Region’s other municipalities. In Hannover itself, only around 22% of people in employment subject to social insurance law are still working in the manufacturing sector, while 77% are employed by service enterprises. In the rest of the Region around 27% of jobs are in manufacturing and 69% in services. Only around 1% of working people in Hannover Region are employed in agriculture.

Manufacturing is today less significant in the Region with regard to the proportion of jobs it provides. Decline in this sector in the course of structural change in the Hannover Region was actually less serious than the dramatic decli-ne since the early 1990s in all German conurbations.

The sectoral structure of manufacturing in the Hannover Region is dominated by vehicle manufacturing (2004: 19,000 employees), followed by mechanical engineering (7,500), rubber processing (5,500), chemicals (4,500) and plastics (4,100). International players in these are-as include Continental AG und Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles. Other, more traditional manufacturing sectors

fluenced by municipal development planning, especially in Hannover city. This has the positive effect for transport operators that differences in route load and viability could be markedly evened out and thus the cost effectiveness of the entire system improved.

The proportion of car use in the entire transport volume is comparatively low in the city of Hannover: at 41%, private car journeys are below the average for comparable Ger-man cities . The reasons for this can be traced to the good service and quality of local public transport and the cycling infrastructure; Region Hannover will continue working to strengthen the ‘environmental alliance’ of walking, cyc-ling and public transport.

Cooperation beyond regional bordersRegion Hannover involves itself in diverse cooperation pro-jects with neighbouring towns, cities and district authori-ties (City-Network EXPO-Region, the extended Hannover economic zone) and with the Hannover-Braunschweig-Göttingen-Wolfsburg Metropolitan Region, to address transport issues that transcend local government borders, reduce emissions from traffic and optimise transport flows. One notable success is the ongoing extension of the com-mon fare structure well beyond the Hannover Region’s borders; the regional tariff of the Greater Hannover public transport association (Großraumverkehr Hannover) now extends into all the neighbouring districts and is also valid for journeys between districts. By improving services, on some routes single journey ticket sales have risen by over 30%, and today over 11,000 commuters use these servi-ces; annual income is around 13 million €.

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region. Synergies between public and motorised private transport should be more strongly exploited in future.

HIGH QUALITY STANDARDS OPEN PUBLIC TRANSPORT TO ALL CLASSES OF SOCIETY.

Following the mass motorisation of society in the latter half of the 20th century, in many places public transport degenerated into a system used only by those who could not run a car. This created a vicious circle into an even worse service used by ever-fewer people.

What is Region Hannover doing?This vicious circle was broken in the Hannover region back in 1970 with the establishment of a public transport operators association. Building up a user-friendly trans-port infrastructure has steadily increased demand – but this is not the sole reason for the popularity of the pu-blic transport system in the Hannover region. Very early in this process, high quality standards were aimed for, both in the construction of stations, e.g. the ‘Bus-Stopp’ sculpture project, and in the choice of vehicles of good attractive design.

These extensive activities have paid off. Unlike in other regions, public transport in the Hannover region is not

that it is also used by people in higher income groups (cf. MiD 2002, ‘Aufstockung Region Hannover’).

Our VisionThe city of Hannover is currently experiencing a renais-sance stimulated by various agencies (in politics, plan-ning, business and culture). Public transport in the Han-nover region with its high quality standards is at home

especially, can open access to public transport for a full cross-section of society.

The municipal transport operators and Region Hannover are not content merely to provide travel but are concer-ned to offer comprehensive transport services including quality information media, modern vehicles and sta-

diverse activities to ensure attractive public transport by using it frequently.

Our VisionThe traditional separation of heavy rail and municipal pu-blic transport networks is still apparent. Region Hanno-ver attempts to link these formerly competing networks more closely. Where S-Bahn local rail and tram routes intersect, changeover stations are built (most recently at

Including motorised road transport more strongly in the overall system should overcome this opposition between transport systems. Here, Region Hannover promotes coexistence where each system can play to its respec-tive strengths. For some time now there has been a cross-modal traffic management centre in the Hannover

City of Hannover

Region Hannover

Germany

otherCarPTBikeby Foot

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lesale and retail along with simple service providers to companies. Conversely, the more complex and deman-ding company-related services, the hospitality industry, health services, finance and public sector administration developed more strongly in the core city. Logistics has become one of the key sectors of the German economy, and since 2003 around 3,300 new jobs in logistics have been created in the Hannover Region.

UnemploymentDue to its structure, the Hannover Region suffers from a relatively high base unemployment. From as far back as the 1980s, the base unemployment rate was significant-ly above the average for German agglomerations. After a temporary employment boom brought about by the World Exposition in 2000 the job market shrank markedly in the years that followed. With the economic upswing of 2006-8 unemployment levels went down by about a third, and the Hannover Region could improve its ran-king slightly at 9.6% unemployment in December 2008, approx. 2 percentage points worse than the average for urban agglomerations.

The unemployment rate in the City of Hannover is bet-ween 2 and 2.5 percentage points higher than that of the Region. Compared to the Lower Saxony State aver-age and the national average, in the Hannover Region the proportions of long-term and older unemployed peo-ple are above the averages.

Regional business promotion – division of tasks between municipal and regional business promotionThe primary aim of regional business and employment promotion is to strengthen and enhance the Hannover Region economic zone. The following objectives are de-rived from this:• Creating attractive business locations and human habitats• Creating and securing jobs • Reducing unemployment and enhancing human capital.

The tasks for economic and employment development that this defines are addressed at the operative level in a cooperation network (municipal/regional, public private partnership, regional/inter-regional and State level), which is constantly developed in response to shifts in the econo-mic and employment situation and the problems arising.

such as food (6,300) and mining / oil extraction (1,500) have declined in importance. A relatively high proportion of jobs compared to national sectoral structures are found above all in electronics and telecommunications techno-logy (3,300), energy (4,800) and publishing (3,900).

Service enterprises in the Hannover Region, with over three-quarters of all jobs and seen as part of the urban agglomeration are by far the most important employers. The main emphases in services – related to the respec-tive national average in each sector – are in insurance (10,600 employees), banking (12,800) and transport and communications / media (28,700). The Hannover Region enjoys cross-regional status above all in ins-urance services (as the third-ranking German concent-ration), while possessing particular strengths in trade fair and conference services and knowledge-intensive enterprise-related services including Leibniz University Hannover, Hannover Medical School and the University of Veterinary Medicine.

Employment development and distributionAround 419,000 people are in employment subject to social insurance law in the Hannover Region, some 269,000 or roughly two-thirds in the City of Hannover. As in other agglomerations, in the ten years 1997-2007 the employment figures were better in the Region’s hinterland than in the core city; while the Region as a whole lost about 2% of its jobs, the decline in the city was over-proportional at 4%. The reasons for this are to be found in suburbanisation, i.e., transferring work-places (both in manufacturing and in services) from the core city to commercial estates in the hinterland with good transport connections. Typical sectors where this ‘emigration’ was most pronounced are transport, who-

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a special role in municipal economic development by addressing some regional issues as well, such as infra-structure promotion, business locating and marketing). The 20 hinterland authorities, depending on local capaci-ties, have their own specialist division and/or full-time, part-time or voluntary contact persons for economic development.

Well-established working party structures facilitate regu-lar exchanges between the regional and municipal levels on regionally significant issues and consultation on servi-ces to be provided and the intersections of collaborative activities. Examples are cooperation on the central advice service for enterprises and creating a unified structure of contacts on EU service directives (interface management between federal state, region and municipalities).

Horizontally, at regional level the issues of economic de-velopment are addressed by means of a network of spe-cialised service offers. Within the Region Hannover ad-

Between regional and municipal economic development, within the Hannover Region an efficient division of respon-sibilities has evolved over the last 25 years and is constant-ly being developed. Regional business development takes on strategic and operative functions for the entire area, complementing municipal business development in the cities and towns, while specialist competences at regional level extend those at municipal level. On a regional scale, more efficient structures and/or critical mass for certain areas of action can thus be created and effectively enhance the work of municipal economic development with their primary local care and maintenance functions (contact with businesses, municipal location development).

Fulfilling economic development responsibilities is both vertically and horizontally structuredVertically, the municipal level mainly assumes the primary function of cultivating contacts and supporting existing businesses in their areas (Hannover City Council’s Direc-torate of Economic and Environmental Affairs assumes

Wirtschafts- und

BeschäftigungsförderungMattias Böhle – Leibniz Universität Hannover – 26. Januar 2009

Optimally Complementary: Division of tasks betweenregional and municipal economic development agencies

Municipal economic development

liaison with companies in the local

authority’s area, initial contact

partner

local authority procedure

management e.g. planning

permission

municipal land development

municipal location marketing

municipal employment development

city district and neighbourhood

development

Municipal economic development

liaison with companies in the local

authority’s area, initial contact

partner

local authority procedure

management e.g. planning

permission

municipal land development

municipal location marketing

municipal employment development

city district and neighbourhood

development

Regional economic Development

Information overview and regional

analysis

specialist advice e.g. on location,

funding, crisis contract office,

innovation and technology transfer

cross-authority management of

procedures

business start-up funding

location marketing and acquisition

skilling, qualification and

employment development projects

structural development projects and

concepts

regional commercial site

development

targeted sector promotion

regional networks

Regional economic Development

Information overview and regional

analysis

specialist advice e.g. on location,

funding, crisis contract office,

innovation and technology transfer

cross-authority management of

procedures

business start-up funding

location marketing and acquisition

skilling, qualification and

employment development projects

structural development projects and

concepts

regional commercial site

development

targeted sector promotion

regional networks

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Trial Center’ (Life Sciences), ‘Laser Academy’ (optics) and ‘Hannover Factory’ (production technology).

In the focus sectors currently being addressed, through business start-ups and support for expansion, the first five years of hannoverimpuls created over 9,000 jobs and im-plemented important structural improvements to support the further growth of private enterprises in the Region.

Logistics are addressed directly by Hannover Region busi-ness development unit because of its strategic impor-tance as a cross-sectoral area. This is one of the most important development sectors with a notable growth rate. With regard to investment volumes, the Hannover Region leads the field in Niedersachsen on new locations by logistics enterprises; since 2003 – in the Hannover Region alone – 11,000 jobs have been secured and 3,300 new ones created, comprising an investment volume of over 600 million €. Logistics is also an important locatio-nal factor that spans all business sectors with its decisive contribution to the competitiveness of the Region’s eco-nomy. With its high space intensity and close relationship to the regional infrastructure, it also has a special impor-tance to locational development.

Support and development of existing businessesTo support and promote the development of the Region’s existing businesses, the Enterprise Office (Unternehmer-büro) offers consultancy services from the regional and municipal economic development agencies (Hannover City Council and the Region’s 20 other local authorities). The purpose of this initial contact point for enterprises is to improve accessibility and efficiency in the advice and licensing processes in the spirit of enterprise-friendly pu-blic administration. The advice portfolio comprises pilot and liaison services in administrative procedures, provi-

ministration, gathered into one division, responsibilities are fulfilled by an ‘Enterprise Office’ (Unternehmerbüro) for developing existing businesses and sections con-cerned with locational development and employment development. The network is extended by the delega-ted activities of the business development association Hannover-Holding GmbH (shareholders are Region Han-nover and Hannover City Council) with its operative com-panies hannoverimpuls (cluster development in focus sectors and support for start-ups) and HMTG Hannover Marketing und Tourismus GmbH (bringing together all marketing and tourism activities). In the field of location development, as an operative company the Hannover Region Grundstücks- und Verwaltungsgesellschaft mbH (property development, HRG) is also active as a subsi-diary of Region Hannover and the Sparkasse Hannover public savings bank.

Aims and central issues of regional economic developmentDerived from the aims of regional business and employ-ment development, at the operative level the following central issues arise:

A. Creating and securing jobsCluster strategyThe main emphasis of the cluster strategy is on ‘focus sectors’ in the Hannover Region that promise especially robust growth and strong innovation and employment potential: automobile manufacture, information and communication technologies, life sciences, optics and production technology, along with energy and health.

These focus sectors are addressed by the hannoverim-puls business development association, co-founded in 2003 by Region Hannover, Hannover City Council and the Sparkasse Hannover bank. hannoverimpuls actively pro-motes regional economic development through a clus-ter strategy, with targeted support for inward location of companies, business start-ups and expansion by existing businesses through providing share capital, staging in-centive competitions, attracting companies to the Region and advising them on sites, and marketing measures. For the strategic further development of the focus sectors, as joint ventures with private sector partners and higher education institutes, project centres were set up: ‘Auto-motive’, ‘Hannover IT’, ‘BioMeti’ and ‘Hannover Clinical

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and with the municipal level and locally accessible. Diffe-rentiated services are provided for the various stages and degrees of maturity in the start-up process (orientation, planning, implementation, coaching in the post-start-up phase). Important elements of stimulating business start-ups are the ideas competition co-staged every year by hannoverimpuls and Sparkasse Hannover, ‘startUp impuls’ and the start-up and location competition, ‘plug & work’. Additionally, at two locations – premises are available for rent to innovative start-up entrepreneurs.

B. Creating attractive business locations and human habitatsImprovements to regional infrastructuresA crucial task for regional locational development is to ensure that enterprises have the necessary infrastructure framework conditions.

Availability of sufficient and suitable commercial sites for location and expansion is essential for enterprises. Regular commercial site monitoring at regional level, documenting land-take and demand, serves the muni-cipalities as the basis for devising regionally appropriate (according to the Regional Plan) and economically viable land-use planning. At the same time it serves at regio-nal level as the basis for decision-making on promoting regionally important municipal development measures, especially for locations suitable for focus sector enterpri-ses or logistics.

Further economically relevant infrastructure features are above all transport, primarily logistic nodes such as the airport, rail, canal (the Mittellandkanal) and broadband provision for telecommunications. Region Hannover ma-kes project-related funding available for infrastructure such as access roads in commercial estates.

In connection with the cluster sectoral strategy, higher education and research institutes play a central role. This is especially true of ‘science nodes’ with interdisciplina-ry approaches such as the Centre for manufactoring en-gineering, the laser centre or the Medical Park. At the same time, a good higher education and science infra-structure creates the prerequisites for keeping qualified employees attached to the Region and for corresponding enterprise development.

ding location, property and site information, advice on subsidies and investment along with crisis consultancy as a neutral contact partner for enterprises in financial difficulties.

The Enterprise Office is founded upon a concept agreed between Region Hannover and its municipalities with clear rules on areas of responsibility and interfaces in all the mentioned service areas, whereby Region Hannover acts as the central contact and either provides or calls on specialist competences for or from the municipal level. Since the Office was established, it has advised an aver-age of 400 enterprises a year.

Innovation, technology transfer, energy efficiencyInnovation and technology consultancy as a specialist competence for developing the Region’s existing busi-nesses, in close cooperation with the Enterprise Office, is part of the hannoverimpuls economic development association and covers advice to innovative enterprises and liaison with federal state and national innovation promotion agencies.

A special innovation advice service for small and medi-um-sized enterprises, which frequently lack the person-nel to develop innovation projects, is the „Wissens- und Technologietransfer“ (knowledge and technology trans-fer) project, established on 1 July 2008 at TCH GmbH and funded by Region Hannover and the ERDF (European Regional Development Fond). Share capital as a further important development component for innovative enter-prises is provided by hannoverimpuls for seed and start-up funding.

A specialised consultancy service for SMEs on energy ef-ficiency is provided by the ‘EcoBizz’ project run by the Klimaschutzagentur Region Hannover mbH (climate pro-tection agency), which offers enterprises in the Hanno-ver Region a two-level (initial and detailed) consultancy financed by the KfW (development bank) special fund for energy efficiency in SMEs’.

Business start-upsFor setting up new businesses, too, the ‘Gründungswerk-statt’ at hannoverimpuls brings together the full range of support for start-ups at regional level. The service is cen-trally based but advertised decentrally in cooperation at

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C. Reducing unemployment and enhancing human capital The most important issues in regional employment development are education and training, professional qualification and employment market policy. Region Hannover’s employment development work supports enterprises, further education agencies and municipali-ties with operational or regional innovation processes. The challenges of a growing shortage of skilled emplo-yees, such as growing burdens on enterprises and their staff, along with demographic change, constitute the ba-sis for regional action. Thus there are cross-links to other tasks of regional economic development, particularly work on sectoral clusters and support and development for existing businesses.

Regional employment development pursues two strate-gic approaches:

• Preventive employment policy strives to avert unem- ployment. Its aim is to improve companies’ and em-

ployees’ adaptability to structural change, focusing on employees in SMEs whose obsolete processes and in-ternal change render them particularly vulnerable.

• Improving the employment situation aims to integra- te disadvantaged groups (young people, women, ol-

der people, ethnic minorities, poorly qualified people) more strongly in the employment market.

In the entire field of business-related infrastructure pro-vision, over the next few years considerable investment will be needed to maintain the central importance of the Hannover Region as the principle economic and scientific location in the State of Niedersachsen and to ensure that it continues to fulfil this function in the face of competiti-on. The levels of investment required cannot be provided from regional funds alone, and so it will be necessary to make additional funds available at federal state level with EU support. This could be a revolving fund created through an infrastructure fund for investment loans wi-thin a regional partial budget. Tourism and soft location factorsTo attract and keep creative talents, ‘soft’ location fac-tors are playing an increasingly important role. Image-building and tourism are thus crucial aspects of national and international location marketing.

The Hannover Region has reshaped its strategy for this by bringing together all the activities of the regional mar-keting agencies; joint marketing of the Hannover Region is now conducted by HTMG, a public private partnership between Region Hannover, Hannover City Council and prestigious companies under banner of www.hannover.de, very closely linked, both internally and externally, with image enhancement and profiling. As ‘Tourismus Region Hannover’, not only the nationally known high-lights in the city of Hannover and tourism and recreati-onal destinations in the hinterland; to be able to work effectively at national level, marketing through an as-sociation structure involving the Region and City of Han-nover, hinterland local authorities and private tourism amenities includes other tourist destinations lying out-side the Region such as Hildesheim and Celle.

Both location marketing and tourism marketing efforts are bearing fruit; as a city tourism destination Hannover is among the nine most important ‘Magic Cities’ (in fifth place) with overnight stays increasing year on year. In the 2008 ‘Städtebarometer’ compiled by Ernst & Young (a questionnaire to 100 companies on locational conditions in Germany’s 20 largest cities), Hannover was runner-up behind Munich due to above-average rankings on such factors as location, infrastructure and quality of life.

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in loose cooperative forms of collaboration – in project groups, single-purpose associations or metropolitan re-gions – but because the need for consultation consumes so much energy this is only partially efficient in direct implementation.

Taking the long view, efficient territorial cohesion at sub-regional level demands new organisational forms. To address problems quickly and effectively, what is needed is not an assortment of actors working side by side at various levels and in various disciplines but rather orga-nisational structures that bring together and concentrate these sectoral and territorial responsibilities. City region authorities such as Region Hannover offer a very effici-ent solution; they make the connections between urban agglomerations and rural areas and establish the basis for devising comprehensive integrated solutions. City regions guarantee their member towns a high degree of independence and citizens’ participation through their own council structures and a directly elected mayor as head of the local administration. Services that local peo-ple need more often such as registry office, applications for social security or vehicle licences can be provided in the citizens’ bureau at the town halls, while regionally important policy areas are concentrated at the regional authority. This respects and implements the subsidiarity principle at regional level. To follow the subsidiarity prin-ciple, implementation of the new regional policy should be pursued more strongly than hitherto at NUTS III level. Involvement of the federal states can happen through preliminary programme conferences. More emphasis on regionalisation in European cohesion policy according to the strategic guidelines from Brussels is the key to suc-cess for the EU’s future regional policy.

5.3 CooPERATioN ANd CooRdiNATioN

Networked thinking and working are the answers to the problems of globalisation. Network structures are shaped by common interests and not bound within geographi-cal or administrative borders. Nevertheless, the oppor-tunities offered by exchanging experience and working together on problems have not yet been sufficiently exploited by regional and local authorities and should therefore be promoted more strongly by the Commis-sion. The European cross-border cooperation groupings (EGCC) represent a major step forward in the effective

5.1 THE dEFiNiTioNAl APPRoACH

As at European level, the definition of territorial cohesion is oriented at city region level on the harmonious deve-lopment of an area and its population consonant with its natural resources. Sustainability of action in the spirit of the Lisbon and Gothenburg Agendas is not an objective that is only binding for EU member states but a challen-ge and obligation for all governmental executive levels. Just as the Lisbon Strategy was extended by the Gothen-burg Agenda, so the EU must measure the success of its cohesion policies on more than indicators of growth, employment and infrastructure; it will be compelled, in the face of emerging climate change, to pay more atten-tion to the state of the natural environment as a factor in successful cohesion policy.

5.2 THE CiTy REGioN As AN iNTEGRATEd solUTioN

Currently, EU cohesion policy operates at the NUTS II level - in Germany, the federal states. It also, however, allows space for activities to solve problems at smaller-scale le-vels to the extent that they are causal factors in regional distortions.

Socio-economic and ecological developments of recent years have shown that effective treatment of such pro-blems as social disparity, sustainable energy and clima-te protection policies, demographic factors and ensuring mobility can only partially be pursued at federal state level and thus in the regional framework as set by Euro-pean nomenclature. It is much more the case that such issues affect the various local levels most strongly – and in inverse proportion to the number of possible action op-tions and scope. While the EU is attempting to offset regi-onal disparities across Europe, all the problems and thus disparities accumulate at local level. One example is the urban-rural dynamic that leaves socially deprived prob-lem areas in urban centres while the economically better situated population moves out to the hinterland. With the ageing population the opposite trend is apparent.

Thus across Europe the municipalities and rural authori-ties are hardest hit by current problems but cannot sol-ve them alone. Effective approaches to finding solutions demand an integrated strategy both in the territorial and the sectoral sense. Practical implementation can happen

5. CiTy REGioNs As iNNovATivE

solUTioNs FoR EURoPEAN CoHEsioN PoliCy

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implementation of cross-border cooperation of local and regional authorities. Their possibilities have not yet been sufficiently communicated at local level; this will be an area for intervention by the European Commission in the next few years. The EU is responsible for spatially significant policy areas; a coordinating function for the effective implementation of this competence would be a sensible extension of the commission’s responsibilities, along with respect for the subsidiarity principle.

Cooperation between networks at local and regional le-vel, involvement of stakeholders from city or regional society and coordination, requires experience that is not yet available in smaller local authorities and regions that do not have the administrative know-how that Region Hannover has accumulated.

The Commission should promote tomorrow’s model of cooperation and coordination with regional conferences in the member states. This also applies to better consulta-tion on the Community’s and member states’ measures.

If the EU seeks to solve the current problems of regional policy at source, it must in future devote more attention to new, efficient, organisation models at sub-regional le-vel. Within the framework of European cohesion policy, the socio-economic factors at NUTS III level should be considered more strongly when deciding whether there should be intervention with European funding. A cohe-sion policy oriented solely on geographical factors also contradicts the criteria of the EU’s Lisbon Strategy and would also be, with regard to budget policy, a waste of financial resources.

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PublisherRegion HannoverProf. Dr. Axel PriebsDirector General of Ecology, Planning and ConstructionPhone.: +49 (511) 6 16-2 25 64Mail: axel.priebs@region-hannover.deHildesheimer Str. 20D-30169 Hannover

AuthorsProf. Dr. Axel PriebsUlrich KinderDr. Solveigh JanssenTill AndrießenHendrik Meinecke de CassanRainer MeyerAndreas Listing

TranslationMic Hale

PicturesThomas LangrederChristian Stahl

designRegion Hannover, Team Gestaltung

PrintRegion Hannover, Team Druck

more informationenUlrich KinderDirector of Planning and Regional DevelopmentPhone: +49 (511) 6 16-2 25 33Mail: ulrich.kinder@region-hannover.de

Andreas ListingDirector for European AffairsPhone: +49 (511) 6 16-2 32 15Mail: europa@region-hannover.de

internet: www.hannover.de