New southern city framework plan: Rostock invites citizen participation!

New southern city framework plan: Rostock invites citizen participation!

On July 16, 2025 at 5:30 p.m., the Südstadt framework plan will be presented in the town hall annex, room 1a/b. This event takes place as part of the meeting of the Agenda 21 Council of the Hanseatic and university city of Rostock. Anyone interested is cordially invited to take part in this meeting to help shape the future of one of Rostock's most popular residential areas.

In recent years, the southern part of the city has been the focus of public discussions on topics such as quality of life, climate protection and mobility. Against the background of these issues, the public participation and planning process “Studio Südstadt” took place from 2023 to 2024, in which representatives of the local advisory board, housing companies and the city administration as well as committed residents came together to actively participate in the development of the district, reports Rostock town hall.

New ideas for a vibrant city

Ute Fischer-Gäde, head of the Senate Department for Urban Planning, Construction, Climate Protection and Mobility since November 2022, brings extensive experience to urban development as a landscape architect. She sees her job primarily as acting as a moderator between citizens, administration and politics. Fischer-Gäde emphasizes that Rostock's key challenges are sea level rise and extreme weather events. Therefore, the city focuses on internal development and strives to promote affordable housing and economic development. Your path leads through an environmental and open space concept that is intended to strengthen the quality of life in an increasingly dense city. The first construction work is currently underway at the city harbor, where major projects such as the construction of a new bridge over the Warnow are to be realized.

The idea of ​​the 15-minute city, which is intended to reduce long journeys for residents, is becoming increasingly important. Intensive work is also being done in the area of ​​flood protection, which makes it clear how important these climate hazards are for urban development. Fischer-Gäde emphasizes that all of these measures must be in line with climate protection, which also includes the establishment of a heat council to promote climate-friendly economies, according to the statement Climate protection municipality.

Sustainability in view

But what constitutes sustainable urban development? This question is explosive because the population in cities around the world is growing rapidly. Over 50 percent of people now live in urban areas, and United Nations forecasts suggest that up to 70 percent will be city dwellers by 2050. Citizens demand access to income, housing and good healthcare, which poses major challenges for urban planning. Sustainability, which takes ecological, social and economic aspects into account, is a key term that is firmly anchored in the urban development discourse.

However, city planners are often faced with the hurdle that social sustainability does not receive sufficient attention. How bpb explained, the interactions between different fields of knowledge and action are often inadequately considered. In order to change this, interdisciplinary training is necessary to promote adequate and socially acceptable urban development. Education and knowledge transfer play an essential role in actively involving and educating citizens.

It is clear: the city of Rostock and many other municipalities are at a crucial point. In order to meet the challenges of our time, close cooperation is needed between all actors - from the administration to the citizens. This is the only way to create a sustainable, livable city for everyone.