Restrictions on new constructions and modernisations occur in almost all countries and numerous regulations apply in Germany. This article outlines regulations regarding the protection of historical buildings, restoration law and preservation statutes and describes compensatory subsidies...

Sustainable development of cities is the overarching objective of spatial development and planning activities by municipalities. The key term in this context has become the concept of integrated spatial development planning as the basis for achieving sustainable urban development. However,...

Am 1. Juni 2016 ist die viel diskutierte Mietpreisbremse ein Jahr in Kraft. Seither wurde sie in 308 Städten eingeführt. Die im Vorfeld geäußerten Befürchtungen, die dringend benötigte Bautätigkeit würde damit massiv ausgebremst, haben sich ebenso wenig bewahrheitet wie die Hoffnungen,...

Die Mietpreisbremse ist das zentrale wohnungsmarktpolitische Projekt der vergangenen Jahre. Umso größer war die Ernüchterung, als erste empirische Studien - auch des DIW Berlin - darauf hindeuteten, dass die Mietpreisbremse den Anstieg der Mieten insgesamt nicht spürbar verlangsamt. Dieses...

The European Union (EU) has set targets for gradually reducing greenhouse gas emissions through 2050. One of the instruments involved is the 2009 Renewable Energy Directive, which specifies a 20 per cent renewable energy target for the EU by 2020. This paper reviews tensions and institutional...

Land is an essential but limited natural resource. We employ the concept of stocks to analyse driving forces for land-use conversion and to assess, whether the German political "30- hectares-goal" is feasible given the current institutional setting. In this paper major driving forces for...

Restrictions on new constructions and modernisations occur in almost all countries and numerous regulations apply in Germany. This article outlines regulations regarding the protection of historical buildings, restoration law and preservation statutes and describes compensatory subsidies...

Recently, the channels of citizen participation in Germany with regard to governmental processes are subject to change. Classical interaction between politicians and citizens still takes place. However, there are new tools for participation at hand as well. One interesting channel that attracted...

Action 5 of the EU 2020 Biodiversity Strategy explicitly mentions that member states will map and assess the state of ecosystems and their services in their national territory by 2014 with the assistance of the Commission. Access to urban green is a key contributor to social and ecological...

Managed grasslands contribute in a number of ways to the biodiversity of European agricultural landscapes and provide a wide range of ecosystem services that are also of socio-economic value. Against the background of a rapid biodiversity loss in agricultural landscapes, increasing attention is...