ABSTRACT
In 1 997, a survey ofthe German Institute of Urban Affairs (Difu), reported on future challenges for cities, as seen by responsible actors in cities and city regions in Germany ( Henckel 1 997). Seven areas have been outlined as particularly important, two of them are strongly interrelated: the budget l ines of local authorities will increasingly come under pressure and co-operation at the local level, at the level of cities and city regions, is considered to be a very important strategic area. Both points have an important impact on the topic of infrastructures: the disparate regional and local economic potentials in Germany wil l have a considerable impact on tax revenues, implying a spatial shift, making it even harder for the weaker cities and regions to promote their locations in a global competition. As has been observed over the recent past, many local authorities developed strategies to refinance deficits by using accumulated assets, which hinders future investments. The steadily growing 'fiscal stress ' , for cities in old industrial regions like the Ruhrgebiet in particular, reduces the opportunity for and potential of local authorities considerably. To co-operate, especially with actors rich in resources, is the strategy at hand.
