More than 200 people have lived for a trial, one-week rental free in the Görlitz "Altstadt" (historical centre) in the period of September 2015 till October 2016. They just had to pay the operating costs. This trial living had the purpose of answering the question if a move to Görlitz would be an option and to make the City known as an attractive place to live.
This trial also offered people from different districts of Görlitz to taste the living in the Görlitz "Altstadt".
This project had been led by the city housing association "KommWohnen Görlitz GmbH". They provided three furnished flats for this trial. The City of Görlitz supported this project and the IZS performed scientific studies.
The relaunch of the project from 2008 and 2010 found great approval. At the end of the deadline of application in January 2016, more than 300 applications from all over Germany and aborad have been received. Especially people from North Rhine-Westphalia, Saxony, Berlin and Baden-Wuerttemberg were interested in trying a "living" in the Görlitzer "Altstadt". Also, the offer seemed to be more interesting for older people, that are already retired and were looking for a new centre of life, or for people who are about to retire and already spend thoughts about how to spend the next stage of life. But also young families with children showed great interest in living in the Görlitzer "Altstadt". The project addressed people who have already a connection to the city and the region as well as people who until then just heard or read about the "Altstadt" with all its historical buildings and wanted to gain some first-hand impressions.
All participants of the project had been declared as experts in evaluating the housing conditions in the Görlitzer "Altstadt". They received questionnaires before, during and after their stay which included questions about their current housing conditions, but also different aspects of the residential location Görlitzer Altstadt.
From the perspective of the project partners, the results are very pleasing: The respondents give the city already a good testimony in many areas. Almost 80 percent find Görlitz attractive and could see themselves moving to this city on the River Neisse. But the results of the survey also shows areas with a need for action.
The results of the accompanying study had been presented to interested media representatives on the 2nd of February 2017.
Furthermore, they are made available for the "KommWohnen Görlitz GmbH" and the city of Görlitz, to take into account the residential desires and housing needs in the urban development for the future.
