structural development

It has been proven: Görlitz is an attractive place to live for young families, skilled workers and self-employed people who want to escape the big city traffic and high rents and value being close to nature.

Last Tuesday, the evaluation of the “ Test Living Kommwohnen premises and is now available on the Internet . We present the project and the findings in summary at this point and finally spoke to Eva Wittig, the managing director of Europastadt GörlitzZgorzelec GmbH , about the future of this innovative project series.

Trial living – what is that?

Participants are selected through open calls for applications, in which potential candidates are selected based on certain criteria. You will be provided with furnished apartments and workspaces in various districts of Görlitz free of charge.

Since 2015, the project series has been coordinated and scientifically supported Leibniz Institute for Ecological Spatial Development (IÖR) with the Interdisciplinary Center for Transformative Urban Redevelopment (IZS) With financial support from the Federal Ministry of Housing, Urban Development and Construction, several successful projects were carried out, including " Test Housing Görlitz-Altstadt" (2015-2017) , " City on Trial - Living and Working in Görlitz" (2018-2020) and " City of Future on trial - A living and working experiment for a climate-neutral Görlitz" (2020-2023) .

Through scientific support, data from a total of 260 participants were evaluated. The data was initially collected purely quantitatively via questionnaires and later also through interviews in order to obtain detailed insights into the location assessments. The applications show that Görlitz is particularly attractive for families and people who come from big cities (Berlin, Dresden, Leipzig). The search for a new place to live and work as well as interest in the architecturally beautiful city are central motives for applications. As a residential location, Görlitz is of particular interest to city dwellers who are faced with challenges such as a lack of housing and traffic congestion.

Görlitz is rated as attractive

The participants rate Görlitz as an attractive place to live and live with various housing and work offers at affordable prices and with interesting opportunities. They appreciate the short distances and the accessibility of green and recreational areas. However, the dominance of motor vehicles and the associated restrictions for pedestrians and cyclists are also criticized.

What is certain is that trying out a new place to live and work through trial living helps to reduce hurdles and uncertainties and make an informed decision. Conclusion: The city of Görlitz should continue to strengthen its attractiveness through a diverse range of living and working spaces, a good infrastructure and the promotion of urban society as an active co-creator.

Throughout the entire duration of the project series, there was a continuous exchange and joint reflection of the results with all those involved in the project. This resulted in the desire to compile key findings in an orientation framework in order to make Görlitz's opportunities and development potential clear. This paper contains findings and conclusions on potential options for action by all project participants for the sustainable development of the city of Görlitz.

New focus

Over the years, the focus of the project has shifted from purely exploring the residential location to an integrated approach that also includes the working location and participation in local initiatives. Most recently, the project series was even linked to the “ Görlitz – Climate Neutral City 2030 ” initiative.

In summary, Görlitz is attractive to various target groups, including families, empty-nest hikers and people, especially self-employed and freelancers from large cities, who are looking for affordable housing and a balanced lifestyle. The participants predominantly rate Görlitz as an attractive place to live and live, which impresses with its diverse range of housing and work space at affordable prices as well as short distances and a wide range of cultural and leisure activities.

The study provides recommendations for inner city and immigration-oriented urban development, including increasing awareness of the needs of potential newcomers, improving access to living and working spaces, maintaining and developing infrastructure, promoting an active urban society, and making use of unique selling points and the promotion of sustainable lifestyles as well as the establishment of Görlitz as an economically viable location for the cultural and creative industries.

The UBL blog spoke to Eva Wittig , managing director of Europastadt GörlitzZgorzelec GmbH, about these findings – and the future of the project series.

Why did the workshop for the “Test Living” project series take place? 

We organized the specialist workshop “Immigration-oriented urban development in Görlitz – how can it be successful?” to present the results of the “Test Living” project series and to show the actors in our city potential starting points. It is important to work with the lessons learned and discuss with relevant stakeholders how we can use these results for our future work.  

How will Europastadt GörlitzZgorzelec GmbH incorporate the findings of the project series into its work? 

The project series provides us with good starting points for marketing Görlitz as a location - especially for recruiting and targeting skilled workers. The focal points and motivations identified as part of the project confirm us and help us to position Görlitz as an attractive place to live and work with the relevant arguments. At the same time, we have identified development potential that we need to continue working on.   

What do you hope for the future of the “Probewohnen” project? 

For the future of the project, I would primarily like to see the previous work continued and deepened. Europastadt GörlitzZgorzelec GmbH will continue to be available as a project partner and will actively support the development. In addition, I hope for continued good cooperation between all stakeholders in order to effectively implement the insights gained and further strengthen Görlitz as a lively and attractive city.  

You can find the entire study here - and you can find at least 12 reasons to choose to live in the Görlitz - Unzahlbarland district as a family or professional here .