Protection and development of biological diversity as part of the integrated urban development by considering the option of the German urban development funding

The integration of protection and development of biological diversity within the urban development became an important topic of the national, local and organisational conservation.  Especially the creation and revalue of green spaces - as part of the biodiversity- is an important step stone for the improvement of the attractivity of towns and communities as living and economic sites. Although fundamental diverse synergies exist between the goals of conservation and landscaping on the one hand and the urban development on the other hand and even though there are a lot of good attempts in practice, protection and development of biodiversity are still not extensively integrated into urban development.

According to the great value of the instruments of urban development for the development of green spaces- especially within the urban development stock- the integration of "green- and free spaces" are an explicit part of the fundings in all programmes of the urban development since 2015.

Next to the further development of the framework through the Federation and states, conservation and landscaping find a need for action by the communities to create suitable concepts and to enrol projects on site. Urban development projects, that use urban green to remedy urban development grievances, are rarely seen in a conceptional connection to city-wide green space plannings and to the goals of conservation and landscaping. Possibilities of urban development fundings, for the protection and further development of biodiversity in populated areas, will be analysed and evaluated within the project and recommendations for action will be provided for the communities.

  • What kind of framework conditions are offered by the current legal requirements for the implementation of urban development fundings to integrate the interests of biodiversity in cities?
  • Which potentials and obstacles are communities facing by the integration of the interests of biodiversity as part of the urban development funding?  
  • How can communities promote the integration of interests of the biodiversity as part of the urban development funding?

Basing on an operationalisation of the interests of the biodiversity in cities and the analysation of the framework for the implementation of urban development funding, interfaces between both subjects will be identified. An analytic framework for the empiric work in the project will be based on this foundation.

Five communities have been chosen after a nationwide selection. Currently, those communities are striving to implement various conceptual strategies to meet the goals of national biodiversity.  They are receiving funds on a project basis for urban development funding or are planning to.  Those communities are scientifical attended and receive support through workshop meetings with the development and update of concepts for urban development, that are mandatory for urban development funding.

Therefore, successful process sequences which lead to a conservation orientated urban development- urban renewal- need to be discussed.

The outcome of the evaluation and the workshop meetings offer the foundation for the recommendation for work. The communities integrate the interests of biodiversity into the urban development funding on this basis.