The Role of Green Innovation Areas in Revitalizing German and Mexican Cities

Currently, many cities undergo economic structural changes. In these cities affected by "shrinkage" are a large number of formerly industrialized brownfield sites. These offer potentials for both a sustainable conversion of formerly ecologically polluted sites and for the creation of new jobs in innovative areas of the BioEconomy. The project GIAGEM promotes BioEconomy on vacant or abandoned inner-city spaces in so-called Green Innovation Areas.

GIAGEM is a joint German-Mexican research cooperation on BioEconomy in Green Innovation Areas. The Federal Ministry of Education and Research supports this project which started in October 2016 and goes until September 2019.

 

What are Green Innovation Areas (GIA)?

  • A new kind of land use type with the purpose of revitalizing vacant or abandoned spaces.
  • GIA are locations for not yet specified new and innovative uses.
  • GIA have an experimental and innovative character.
  • GIA are related to uses in the are of BioEconomy.
  • GIA address a number of public, private and civil society actors.
  • GIA aim at connecting the communities', the entrepreneurs' and local authorities' interests by means of long range land use planning and sustainable land use allocations.

 

What is BioEconomy?

"The BioEconomy comprises those parts of the economy that use renewable biological resources from land and sea - such as crops, forests, fish, animals and micro-organisms - to produce food, materials and energy" (Website European Commission 2017).

 

Here the project flyer

Here the project ROLL-UP

Here the project book

Here the project handbook of recommendations in english

Here the project handbook of recommendations in spanish  GIAGEM Manual de recomendaciones

 

2019 "Antenne Kaiserslautern" German radio podcast