Arbeitspapiere zur Regionalentwicklung - Elektronische Schriftenreihe des Lehrstuhls Regionalentwicklung und Raumordnung (E-Paper) - Band 14

Jörg Bauer

Strategies and measures for the development of quality of life and attractiveness in a rural community taking account of the adults aged 18-50 years - the example of "Markt Heiligenstadt" in Upper Franconia

The attractiveness of an area as a residential-location depends on several factors. The presence of attractive jobs and access to various infrastructures are very important. These factors contribute significantly to a person’s choice of a residential location.

The rural areas in Germany are faced with huge challenges: demographic change, economic structural change, deficits in the utilization of infrastructures and municipal debts have a negative impact on the attractiveness of living and limit the quality of life. One consequence of these developments is the emigration from rural into urban regions.

The municipality Heiligenstadt is located in the rural area and would like to face the challenges in terms of a proactive control. Thus, the main intention of this paper is to design appropriate measures and strategies that support a communal development oriented in attractiveness and quality of life.

It is essential to capture the interests and opinions of the population to identify suitable concepts. This was done by a survey among the population aged 18-50 years. The research focuses are “live”, “work” and “leisure”. Especially people in this age are important for the community due to their economic strength and the potential of family foundation. At the same time they are very mobile and react sensitive to the presence or absence of “residential-attractiveness-factors”.

The results of a structural analysis and the survey allow an evaluation of Heiligenstadts attractiveness and quality of life. Based on modifiable key factors this paper drafts scenarios with a time horizon of 20 years.

Based on these findings, the paper gives recommendations for action in terms of strategies and measures. These are all oriented towards the headline goal: "Citizens of all ages should like to live in Heiligenstadt in future!"

ISSN 1869-3814
Number of pages: 245