"My house, my car, my boat" is a legendary advertising slogan from the 1990s. It draws attention to competition in the private sphere, but also to the different living conditions in Germany. If anything, inequality has increased since then. But what exactly are equal living conditions?
The Academy for Spatial Development in the Leibniz Association has published a new position paper on the equivalence of living conditions with recommendations for spatial planning. Schools, water supply, shopping facilities, GP services, but also mobility and accessibility, fire services and internet access - all of these are important for providing the population with basic services close to home, are part of services of general interest and are central to the local quality of life.
Sustainable spatial development endeavours to achieve a lasting, large-scale balanced order with equal living conditions. The importance of this is also emphasised by the Federal Government's recently published Equality Report. It shows a reduction in inequalities in many areas at municipal level, but also identifies weaknesses and persistent socio-economic inequalities. In addition, the actual situation does not always match the perception on the ground or in the region.
Equal living conditions are a political task. The Federal Ministry of Housing, Urban Development and Building formulates it as follows: "Equivalent living conditions in all sub-areas means that all people have the opportunity to participate in society, e.g. access to work, education, culture, health, provision of the necessities of life, regardless of whether they live in a large city or in the countryside".
Different factors are relevant when assessing living conditions in the various regions of Germany. A good overview is provided by the Atlas of Germany, which shows the most important facts on 75 interactive maps and enables detailed comparisons between the regions: www.deutschlandatlas.bund.de.
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