IZS project REVIVAL!

Many small and medium-sized towns in the region flourished in the Middle Ages and have been able to preserve an extensive architectural heritage from this period. Today, they face structural challenges, partly due to their peripheral location and migratory movements to larger cities. Population losses due to migration, but also developments in the retail sector, with a preference for large-scale locations on the outskirts of the city or online retail, result in increasing functional losses of the historic city centers.
In the project, the participating cities implemented concrete measures to make their historic centers more tangible, revitalized and upgraded in order to highlight the potential of the centers for a high quality of life. Measures included action days with market stalls and cultural offerings as well as restoration work and the development of strategies.
The networking of the municipal partners and the exchange of information about the respective problems and approaches to solutions in the project promoted the elaboration of strengths and regional cooperation. New impulses for urban development were generated during an autumn school with student participants from both countries.
The focus of the accompanying research was a study on the quality of life in historic small and medium-sized towns. The focus was on possible interactions between identification, social commitment, urban functions as well as economic developments with the cities' building heritage. It was shown that building heritage has a clear potential for the development of small and medium-sized towns in peripheral locations and can contribute to an increase in the quality of life. However, individual examples also made clear that the exploitation of this potential depends strongly on local and supra-regional conditions and development dynamics.
REVIVAL! project website