The traffic light government wants to build 400,000 apartments a year. A study now shows that the space is there. But are they there where they are needed?
According to a study, there is building land in Germany that can be used in the short term for around two million apartments. Approximately 53,000 hectares of space in the interior of towns and communities can be built without major effort, as calculated by the Leibniz Institute for Ecological Spatial Development and the German Economic Institute for the Ministry of Construction.
Almost twice as much is basically also developed. “There is enough building land in Germany,” said Building Minister Klara Geywitz on Tuesday. She thinks it is realistic to build around two million apartments on the site. Even with conservative calculations, there is room for 900,000 apartments.
The traffic light government has set itself the goal of building 400,000 apartments each year, 100,000 of which will be publicly subsidized social housing. This goal can be achieved without taking up too much additional space outside of settlements, said Geywitz. “Economically and ecologically, we cannot afford to waste land.” The SPD politician promoted the intelligent use of fallow land and vacant lots.
Potential everywhere
According to Geywitz, the available building land is in rural areas as well as in urban areas. “We have potential, from north to south, but also from east to west.” According to the study, there tends to be fewer towns and communities with a lot of free space in counties with higher demand. In general, however, it can be said: “The existing potential is also where it is needed,” emphasized Markus Eltges, head of the Federal Institute for Research on Building, Urban Affairs and Spatial Development. In the urban districts alone, between 370,000 and 740,000 apartments could be built, depending on the building density.
“From the point of view of the study, it is therefore not necessary to claim extensive new areas,” said Eltges. The Lord Mayor of Heidelberg and Vice-President of the German Association of Cities, Eckart Würzner, also emphasized that building on greenfield sites outside of the cities was initially not necessary.
In large cities with particularly high demand, however, you also have to build on areas that are already in use, said Eltges. That means adding floors to the building, expanding attics and basements, building on discounter courtyards and courtyards. In this way, several hundred thousand apartments could be realized. Geywitz pointed out that the increased conversion to working from home could also convert office space into living space.
«Clearing out» building regulations
«There is land for building. What matters now is the common will to bring as much affordable housing as possible onto the housing market as quickly as possible,” emphasized Geywitz. City council representative Würzner called for consistent, permanent funding for social housing by the federal and state governments. In addition, the building law must be “cleared out”. “Construction land that can be used immediately must not be left lying around for speculative purposes.”
The Federal Association of Independent Real Estate and Housing Companies called on the municipalities to identify building land and issue building permits quickly and efficiently. “The digital building application is a good tool, if it actually comes,” said President Andreas Ibel. The main association of the German construction industry called for a “planning and approval booster”. Managing Director Tim-Oliver Müller pointed out that material shortages caused by the Ukraine war were increasingly causing problems on the construction sites. “Here we can no longer rule out construction stops for a large number of projects.” International supply chains urgently need to be reviewed.
Source: Stern
Jane Stock is a technology author, who has written for 24 Hours World. She writes about the latest in technology news and trends, and is always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to improve his audience’s experience.
