As it is the case in most city centers across Europe, there is a need to adapt to the changes following the pandemic which fueled the development of e-commerce amongst other things. Germany has understood the challenge, the main take-away being that we need to rethink city centers as an ensemble. It is the whole public space that has to be envisioned as an opportunity to revive city centers by, for example, repurposing already existing infrastructures to make them into housing, indoor leisure concepts or restaurants.
In this case, Germany calls for a holistic approach, which in simple terms means to deal with something as a whole and not just focusing on one part. Rehabilitating a street is not the solution but redesigning the whole space to fit modern expectations is the answer. We are faced with an ever-changing society and require city centers to adapt.
Germany has understood the stakes and especially encourages a part of its population to take action: the students. There is a need to take advantage of the space that is available for them and turn it into opportunities to socialize, appropriate the space and participate in the prosperity of local stores.
The key to revitalizing city centers is to adapt to the different needs of citizens and create an environment that encourages participation and involvement.
