ABSTRACT
The current housing situation in Germany is a result of visions of housing policies and urban planning, the orientation of which has changed over the decades. However, highly stable settlement patterns are influenced by the regional planning principle ‘dezentrale Konzentration’ (decentralised centralisation) and by the constitution of the Federal Republic of Germany. The drive towards sustainable communities began in the early postwar decades with the principle of equal opportunity and the objective of social stability. The constitutional rules governing public finances state an important principle: ‘Such law shall ensure a reasonable equalisation of the disparate financial capacities of the Länder [federal states], with due regard for the financial capacities and needs of municipalities [associations of municipalities]’ (Article 107.2). Strong federal states have to support weak ones financially. Another principle in the constitution stipulates that no law may be passed if it thwarts the establishment of equal standards of living (Article 72.2). Regarding spatial development, this applies especially to the equal availability of infrastructure and development support for small and mediumsized towns. Settlement patterns in Germany are inter alia an expression of these two principles. From a satellite perspective, Germany appears rather evenly ‘dotted’ with settlements. Approximately half of the German population lives in small towns of less than 20,000 inhabitants.
