Project Description
As part of structural policies to compensate for the regional consequences of the coal phase-out in Lusatia, the German Center for Astrophysics (DZA) is currently being established in Görlitz. One of the main objectives is to create up to 3,000 jobs in the city and surrounding area.
Despite stabilized population development, the city of Görlitz continues to rely on in-migration. After a long period of population decline, there are still significant vacancies in the housing stock, particularly in the city center. The stabilization of the population over the past ten years has only been possible due to positive in-migration. The forecast for natural population development remains clearly negative for the coming years. In addition to the “quantitative” influx of new residents needed to revitalize vacant and, in some cases, heritage-listed buildings, the city also depends on “qualified” in-migration. This is essential to address the regional shortage of skilled workers, to maintain an active and diverse local civil society, and to generate the technical and social innovations necessary for a sustainable transformation.
With the “Testing the City” approach, which generates knowledge about Görlitz’s potential for attracting new residents in an innovative and creative way, a well-established experimental approach has developed in Görlitz over many years (Zöllter et al. 2017, Zöllter et al. 2019, Zöllter 2023, Zöllter et al. 2023). To analyze the conditions for in-migration potential, interested individuals are offered time-limited, cost-free trial stays. These temporary newcomers are surveyed about their motivation to move, their expectations and requirements for a new location, as well as their everyday life expectations on site. Together with local stakeholders, conclusions are drawn for future-oriented urban development and for improving the residential and living environment (see Projektverbund „Stadt der Zukunft auf Probe“ 2024). These insights and experiences are now being used in a joint project by the Department of Transformation Research at the DZA and the IZS to investigate the in-migration potential for the city of Görlitz as a result of the establishment of the DZA. The basis for this is the combination of the trial living approach with the DZA’s development and recruitment process.
Research Interest and Questions
At the core of this project is the question of what is required to generate transformative potential for sustainable urban development through the in-migration of skilled professionals associated with the establishment of the DZA. The research is guided by the following questions:
- What are the location requirements regarding housing, the residential environment, and public services for skilled professionals moving to Görlitz? To what extent do these requirements differ from those of DZA employees who are already living in the region?
- How do new DZA employees perceive the hard and soft location factors in Görlitz, and how do these factors influence their decision to relocate or not?
- What are the ideas and wishes of DZA employees for a future-oriented and sustainable urban development? To what extent are these needs already being met by the services and development strategies of the city of Görlitz and the surrounding region? What recommendations for action can be derived from this for urban and regional development?
Objectives and Expected Outcomes
The project pursues three goals through a transdisciplinary approach:
- To generate knowledge about the effects of establishing a research institution on sustainable urban development, focusing on small and medium-sized cities in rural and peripheral areas, particularly in the context of regional structural transformation.
- To derive concrete conclusions for transformative urban development policy. The project is expected to provide specific impulses for local housing policy, urban and regional economic development, as well as the local civil society.
The project also targets the DZA’s recruitment process. The opportunity for trial stays on site, accompanied by scientific monitoring, can increase the attractiveness of the location and the DZA as an employer.
