City manager in action: Creating lively inner cities for MV!

City manager in action: Creating lively inner cities for MV!

The city centers of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania are facing a greater challenge: How do you bring more life into the often empty streets and squares? 25 city managers across the state, both in vibrant cities like Rostock and Schwerin as well as in smaller towns like Pasewalk and Schwaan, are committed to revitalizing these centers. These managers not only organize events, but also act as a liaison between the city administration and local entrepreneurs. “We have to bring people back into the city centers,” said a city manager from Pasewalk, who invited people to the spring shopping campaign to present the local offerings. During and after the corona pandemic, the number of city managers increased thanks to a state government funding program, but not all positions were retained after the funding expired. The Ministry of Economics still sees Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania as being well positioned compared to other countries.

What exactly does the support look like? City managers help with permitting issues and build relationships with store owners. Corinna Thieme, City Manager in Plau am See, is a good example of how personal exchange plays a central role. “Talking to entrepreneurs is crucial to understand their needs,” she explains.

Strengthening inner cities

The state's goal is clear: strengthening the upper and middle centers as important business locations and anchor points for retail, gastronomy and tourism. As the Government MV emphasizes, various measures are therefore promoted. The focus is particularly on the development and implementation of events, the revitalization of city centers and the digitization of local value chains in order to stabilize retail. It is a comprehensive strategy that also includes the revitalization of restaurants and tourism in the inner city areas.

These projects are crucial for the 95 primary, middle and senior centers in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The hope is that through creative initiatives and active urban design, inner cities will become multifunctional experience spaces. And that is necessary because the challenges are great in many rural regions - the population is often far below what would be necessary for a lively city.

Find the conversation

A special opportunity will soon arise: On November 10th at 8 p.m. there will be a discussion about the future of the inner cities in the Beermann Arena in Demmin, moderated by NDR “Talk vor Ort”. Commitment and ideas from the region can be presented and discussed here. This type of exchange is important to find out what people really want and how city centers can respond to it.

So there is still a lot of work ahead of the city managers and those responsible for the city. But with a good hand and the right feeling for the needs of the citizens, it could be possible to bring the city centers of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania back to life. It will be exciting to see how the situation develops and what new impulses will be set in the next few months.