German Cities Research Articles

Taking critique of psychiatry to the streets. Mad Pride parades and the Blue Caravan as work on multiplicity

This article focuses on performative articulations of critiques of psychiatry, with two forms of demonstration in particular: First, the Mad Pride Parades, which have been held in various German cities since 2013, and second actions by the "Blaue Karawane" in Bremen, amovement that emerged in the 1980s in the wake of the dissolution of apsychiatric clinic. Although they are situated in different temporal and local contexts, both rely on forms of street protest to question the demarcation between 'normal' and 'mad' and to promote the equal recognition of mental alterity. Adetailed examination of the forms of action highlights the importance of carnivalesque celebration, provocation and spectacle for both forms of psychiatric critique. We argue that these forms allow experiencing this critique and, at the same time, make drafts of adifferent-better-society tangible. To elaborate on these aspects, we draw on queer and gender theoretical considerations as well as on approaches from performance studies. Looking at Mad Pride parades and the Blaue Karawane in their respective contexts reveals similarities in the way in which critique of the exclusion of mental alterity is articulated, but also highlights differences in terms of affectedness, participation and argumentation.

The unequal spread of digital neighbourhood platforms in urban neighbourhoods: A multilevel analysis of socio-demographic predictors and their relation to neighbourhood social capital

Digital neighbourhood platforms (DNPs) – also called online neighbourhood networks or neighbourhood social networks – are still a relatively novel phenomenon, and little is known about their actual reach among citizens and about neighbourhood conditions which foster or impede their spread. We consider DNPs as a digital extension of conventional neighbourhood social capital and analyse their spread in comparison with the latter using a recent community survey in two large German cities with a probability sample of 2900 respondents in 139 neighbourhoods. The analysis is guided by the scholarly discussion on the potential of DNPs to reduce current inequalities in the distribution of social capital. The results showed that 18% of respondents in Cologne and 12% of respondents in Essen have used DNPs. Multilevel analyses revealed a strong negative association of neighbourhood ethnic diversity with user rates, in parallel to the same negative effect on conventional neighbourhood social capital. It is therefore reasonable to assume that pre-existing inequalities in social capital are replicated by DNPs. On the individual level, the use of DNPs was less dependent on strong social bonds than on conventional social capital. Comparing respondents who use DNPs to those who do not, the former group proves to be socially more connected, more trusting and more satisfied with their neighbourhoods.

Children and adolescents’ experiences of mandatory SARS-CoV-2 testing in schools: a cross-sectional survey

BackgroundPublic health measures during the COVID-19 pandemic had dramatic consequences for children and adolescents. However, policy-makers and healthcare researchers did not give sufficient weight to children’s perspectives. One common public...

Merit, Need, Entitlement? Investigating Fairness of Housing Evaluations

Abstract The article empirically investigates how individuals evaluate unequal housing conditions with respect to the distributive justice principles of merit, need, and status entitlement. Also addressed is the “double standards” hypothesis. The data stem from an online survey fielded to a random sample of the population of a mid-sized German city (N = 1,154). In a factorial survey experiment, respondents rated example residential constellations of fictitious persons with respect to their perceived fairness. The vignettes varied merit-, need-, and entitlement-related factors, and housing conditions. The findings show that respondents take these justice principles into account when making judgments about fair housing, and that need-related factors (having children) are more important than merit (professional performance). Further, there are double standards of the form that performance is applied differently based on the gender and occupational status of fictitious residents. The article finishes by discussing issues that should be addressed by future work and calls for more empirical studies on fairness of housing evaluations.

The “dispersed” market: trading vegetables in Bamberg’s vegetable-growing district

Based on field observations, interviews, personal websites and news publications, the article takes a detailed look at the trade in Bamberg vegetables in a traditional vegetable-growing district. I ask the following questions: why, despite logistical and transportation inconveniences, buying vegetables from the producer is in demand and popular in today’s Germany? what can the convenience of the supermarket be opposed to? and what can sellers who have grown their own produce offer the sophisticated resident of a wealthy German city? The collected field material shows that the sale/purchase of vegetables in the stalls of the “dispersed market” occupies a certain niche in the consumption culture of the city dwellers and realizes a specific, emotionally loaded purchasing experience, which speaks of the eventization of trade. This different experience of consumption is purposefully constructed as if it is rooted in tradition and referring to some idealized past and notions of homeland, as well as to the concept of urban authenticity.

Diversity challenges in German nursing teams: a participatory organizational development approach

Abstract Background Migration of health care professionals, demographic change and the transformation of the health care system result in highly diverse nursing teams in German hospitals and nursing homes. Different orientations (regarding qualification, generation or migration background) collide in a working environment characterized by staff shortage, time pressure and decisions about life and death. But team cooperation not only has a strong impact on patient safety, but on job satisfaction and therefore retention management. Little is known on how teams cope with diversity challenges and how this is linked with organizational structures. Methods Based on qualitative content analysis of 197,5 hours of participatory observation, 8 group discussions and 25 interviews in 6 nursing teams in 2 hospitals and 2 nursing homes situated in a major German city, we developed workshops on the topic of team diversity and cooperation. 10 workshops (4-16 participants each) were in held in 2023/24 both on team- and management-level. Results All teams are struggling with diversity-related problems, but in their specific ways, depending on the particular neighbourhood of the facility and team composition among other things. Due to the strong team spirit and identity, the teams have a fundamental tendency to integrate diverse perspectives and orientations. But they need time capacities and supportive organizational structures. The workshops created a space to discuss the team specific problems. Starting points for structural changes could be identified and further discussed in the workshops at the next higher hierarchical level. Conclusions Organisational structures provide the framework conditions that enable teams to integrate different perspectives resulting from diversity in a productive way. One-fits all solutions are not suitable to address those problems and improve teamwork. A participatory bottom-up process seems to be the most appropriate approach. Key messages • Institutions need to provide structures in which diversity is not perceived as an additional burden. • The best way to initiate improvements is through a participatory bottom-up approach.

Unveiling her perspective: Exploring women's multi-local living arrangements in German cities

Multi-local lifestyles are increasingly shaping current living realities. Earlier German studies identified (work-related) multi-locality as a “male phenomenon” influenced by traditional gender relations. Women, especially during the family phase, are less likely to choose multi-local arrangements, while multi-local women are often childless. As tendencies towards individualization and pluralization have increased in the last years, coupled with the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, the question is whether (and to what extent) differences between men and woman in multi-local lifestyles persist. Using a representative survey and qualitative interviews with multi-local residents in Frankfurt am Main and Leipzig, the study investigates the quantitative dimension of multi-locality, as well as differences in how this lifestyle is perceived. In this paper, we contribute to a better understanding of the specific multi-local living realities of women and men, as well as the differences in how they are realized and perceived.

Urban sustainability commitment in Germany – attempts to nail a pudding to the wall

ABSTRACT Knowledge about urban sustainability policies seems highly relevant regarding the ability to govern sustainable development actively. Based on this assumption, this paper reports on a new dataset in which the sustainability policies of 189 German cities are collected and aggregated into an index measuring the city’s overall sustainability commitment in 2021. This is the first attempt to collect the sustainability policies of a high number of German cities based on a multidimensional understanding of sustainability and from a policy-analytical perspective using the concept of policy density. The analysis shows that 80% of the cities are engaged with sustainability but to a significantly varying degree: ‘Beginner’ cities with a low index value do not only use less binding or symbolic policies and not all ‘leading’ cities have formulated overarching strategies. These findings fit the assumption that dichotomous operationalization of sustainability commitment, which is mainly found in the literature, might fall short of capturing the actual extent of cities’ sustainability efforts, while the developed index allows for a more differentiated operationalization. The index can be used for future analyses aimed at examining the impact of policies on sustainable development or investigating why some cities actively commit to sustainability, and others do not.

The Destruction of Architecture

The Allied bombing campaigns over the German cities during World War II produced a vast landscape of destruction, which has been the object of reports, accounts and fictional narratives. Cities and buildings, a fundamental architectural heritage binding individuals and communities to their existential spaces, were annihilated in the most extensive act of deliberate destruction in human history. In this article, I look into the work of three authors – Heinrich Böll, Stig Dagerman and Hans Erich Nossack – to outline the effects of the bombings on the survivors, and on their relationship to both urban space and architectural heritage.

Introducing right turn on red for cyclists—a before-after study on behavioural adaption in Germany

Right Turn On Red (RTOR) for cyclists is a low-cost and easy-to-implement improvement for cycling that is practised in several European countries and has been discussed for implementation in Germany. This study investigates the effects of introducing RTOR for cyclists based on video observations at 43 sites in nine German cities including all relevant types of cycling infrastructure (mixed traffic, cycle lanes, cycle tracks). Using a before-after approach, the study compares cyclist behaviour in terms of compliance with traffic rules and conflicts with other users. Overall, the introduction of RTOR legalised behaviour that had already been practised. The share of cyclists turning right on red, which was already high at 80% before the introduction of RTOR, increased to 93% with RTOR, and cyclists were more likely to comply with traffic rules and less likely to cycle on the pavement. Conflicts were mainly observed between right-turning cyclists and other cyclists as well as pedestrians. The number of conflicts increased after the introduction of RTOR while conflict criticality decreased. Cyclists gave more space to other users and obstructed them less with RTOR in place. The only exception to this were conflicts in the approach, where more close overtaking manoeuvres and wriggling through other users were observed. RTOR should therefore only be recommended if sufficient space is available or cyclists mainly turn right at an intersection. Based on the results of this study, recommendations for RTOR for cyclists have been introduced in the German Highway Code.

When market access gains do not spur urban growth

Abstract We revisit the natural experiments of division and unification of Germany. The negative shock to local market access following the division of Germany led to a fast and strong downward adjustment of the size of West German cities near the new border. In contrast, the positive shock of reunification did not lead to any change in their relative size. Even three decades after reunification, no convergence can be observed. We show that local subsidies to East Germany could have contributed to this asymmetry in time.

The Engagement and Disengagement of Heterogeneous Stakeholders: A Relational Practice Perspective on Strategy Development

In this article, we underscore the importance of stakeholder relationships for research on stakeholder engagement. We do so by integrating a practice-based understanding with the relational view. Based on a revealing case study of a civic engagement process in a large German city, we develop a conceptual framework that explains how relational practices shape stakeholder engagement. We identify three relational practices (i.e., connecting, facilitating, and containing) and their associated outcomes (i.e., implication, solidarization, and distinction), as well as effects on stakeholder heterogeneity. Our findings contribute to the relational view on stakeholder engagement by providing insights into practices that shape relationships between heterogeneous stakeholders, explaining how these relational practices influence stakeholder heterogeneity, and identifying unintended impacts of stakeholder engagement.

Requirements for upgrading trusted nodes to a repeater chain over 900 km of optical fiber

Abstract We perform a numerical study of the distribution of entanglement on a real-world fiber grid connecting the German cities of Bonn and Berlin. The connection is realized using a chain of processing-node quantum repeaters spanning roughly 900 kilometers. Their placement is constrained by the fiber grid we consider, resulting in asymmetric links. We investigate how minimal hardware requirements depend on the target application, as well as on the number of repeaters in the chain. We find that requirements for blind quantum computing are markedly different than those for quantum key distribution, with the required coherence time being around two and a half times larger for the former. Further, we observe a trade-off regarding how target secret-key rates are achieved when using different numbers of repeaters: comparatively low-quality entangled states generated at a high rate are preferred for higher numbers of repeaters, whereas comparatively high-quality states generated at a lower rate are favored for lower numbers of repeaters. To obtain our results we employ an extensive simulation framework implemented using NetSquid, a discrete-event simulator for quantum networks. These are combined with an optimization methodology based on genetic algorithms to determine minimal hardware requirements.

The Future as a Cultural Commons: Grammars of Commonality in Crisis‐Ridden Wilhelmsburg

In this article, I analyze how vulnerable yet resistant urban residents set out to “common” a particular phenomenon: the future. The scene in analysis is Wilhelmsburg, the southern section of the German city of Hamburg. Plagued by industrial pollution, infrastructural decay, and systemic poverty, Wilhelmsburg’s residents united themselves around the 2000s in an organization called Future Wilhelmsburg. Their goal? To get out of the crisis by commoning Wilhelmsburg’s future. Future Wilhelmsburg has engaged ever since in a continuous struggle—writing, blogging, researching, advocating, and protesting—to subject the neighborhood’s future to the wishes of its residents rather than to the top‐down projections of the urban governmental elite. The future of Wilhelmsburg is thus approached as a “cultural commons”: a symbolic construct that is collectively produced yet intrinsically vulnerable to enclosure. Against this background, I set out to sociologically explain Future Wilhelmsburg’s commoning of the future. How is it, precisely, that the activists united in Future Wilhelmsburg manage to turn the “not yet” into a meaningful matter of common concern? Laurent Thévenot’s “pragmatic sociology,” and more precisely his model of the three “grammars of commonality”—referring to the structuring principles through which social actors turn individual concerns into collective ones—allows us to answer this question. The article highlights how the “justificatory grammar" (structuring activists’ public argumentations), the “liberal grammar” (structuring their pinpointing of collective paths forward), and the “affective grammar” (structuring their affinity to place) all permeate the work of Future Wilhelmsburg as it sets out to turn the future into a cultural commons.

The Policy Relevance of Urban Scaling Laws: A Study on Impervious Ground in German Cities

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 14pt;">The expansion of urban infrastructure is an important indicator of agglomeration and a major factor in the deterioration of the urban environment. The investment in urban infrastructure is accompanied by the sealing of ground. The implementation of effective policies to reduce the practice of sealing ground is impeded by the existence of conflicting interests and fiscal disincentives. A significant challenge is the dearth of policy-relevant information. Conventional analysis considers urban outcome indicators in proportion to population and neglects non-linear distribution patterns, thus obscuring global regularities that contain important information. The study contributes to a more comprehensive understanding of urban imperviousness through the lens of urban scaling. The present study employs Germany as a case study to examine the extent to which the parameters of the scaling function differ between two types of cities. District Affiliated Cities (DACs) and Administrative City Districts (ACDs), which are afforded greater fiscal autonomy. The analysis indicates that the amount of sealed land exhibited a notable increase between 2006 and 2018 in the ACDs. Calibration of the scaling functions for cities with the actual coefficient of the DAC control estimate and a global orientation exponent (5/6) resulted in a 16% reduction of sealed ground. In conclusion, urban scaling laws offer a valuable tool for analyzing the complex dynamics of urban imperviousness and its control costs, thereby contributing to the formulation of more effective urban policies and planning.</span></p>

The Policy Relevance of Urban Scaling Laws: A Study on Impervious Ground in German Cities

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 12pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 14pt;">The expansion of urban infrastructure is an important indicator of agglomeration and a major factor in the deterioration of the urban environment. The investment in urban infrastructure is accompanied by the sealing of ground. The implementation of effective policies to reduce the practice of sealing ground is impeded by the existence of conflicting interests and fiscal disincentives. A significant challenge is the dearth of policy-relevant information. Conventional analysis considers urban outcome indicators in proportion to population and neglects non-linear distribution patterns, thus obscuring global regularities that contain important information. The study contributes to a more comprehensive understanding of urban imperviousness through the lens of urban scaling. The present study employs Germany as a case study to examine the extent to which the parameters of the scaling function differ between two types of cities. District Affiliated Cities (DACs) and Administrative City Districts (ACDs), which are afforded greater fiscal autonomy. The analysis indicates that the amount of sealed land exhibited a notable increase between 2006 and 2018 in the ACDs. Calibration of the scaling functions for cities with the actual coefficient of the DAC control estimate and a global orientation exponent (5/6) resulted in a 16% reduction of sealed ground. In conclusion, urban scaling laws offer a valuable tool for analyzing the complex dynamics of urban imperviousness and its control costs, thereby contributing to the formulation of more effective urban policies and planning.</span></p>

Assessing the effects of the heat health warning system on mortality in 15 German cities: A difference-in-differences approach

Assessing the effects of the heat health warning system on mortality in 15 German cities: A difference-in-differences approach

The Relationship between Immigrant Settlement and Housing Costs in Global German Cities

The Relationship between Immigrant Settlement and Housing Costs in Global German Cities

Routine Data Analysis of HIV Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis Use and Rates of Sexually Transmitted Infections Since Coverage of HIV Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis by the Statutory Health Insurance in Germany

Human immunodeficiency virus pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is considered as an effective protection against a human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. However, it is still unclear, how PrEP use is associated with the incidence of sexually transmitted infections (STI) other than HIV. PrEP became reimbursable in Germany from September 1, 2019 for persons with statutory health insurance (SHI). With the EvE-PrEP study, the Federal Ministry of Health commissioned the evaluation of the effects of the new reimbursement situation in Germany. In the presented module of the EvE-PrEP study, routine data from three large German SHI funds were analyzed in anonymized form for the period January 1, 2019 to March 31, 2020. Data were analyzed regarding: Characteristics and adherence of PrEP users, treatment success of PrEP, and changes in STI incidence rates before and since PrEP use. The cooperating SHI funds collectively covered about 52% of the overall population in Germany in 2019. A total of 7102 persons with PrEP use were included into the analysis. These were predominantly male (99%), on average 37.4 years old and a high proportion of persons lived in large cities. The average quotient of PrEP daily defined doses and assumed days on PrEP was 87%. The average STI rates normalized per 100 person-years at individual level pre PrEP did not statistically significant differ compared to since PrEP (chlamydia: 17.5 vs. 17.6, gonococcal infection: 29.1 vs. 30.7, and syphilis: 14.6 vs.13.6). A large data set was used to evaluate the introduction of PrEP as a SHI benefit in Germany. A potentially suspected increase in bacterial STI incidence rates was not found. A rather high average adherence rate was observed. The very high proportion of men and people from the largest German cities among PrEP users is striking. These results could indicate barriers to PrEP access for people at risk of HIV, especially if they are women or people living in less urban areas.

New ways for carsharing – Can mobility as a service boost carsharing?

Mobility as a Service is a potential game changer in the transition from individual motorized to sustainable and multimodal mobility in urban areas. These innovative concepts are an opportunity for existing forms of sustainable mobility to reach a broader user base and extend their service offerings. Although there are some practical examples of carsharing applications in such concepts, there is a lack of data-driven research about Mobility as a Service in practice and, above all, findings about the influence on usage behavior within such systems. We analyze usage data of the “Mobil-Flat”, a subscription-based mobility offer that integrates carsharing, public transportation, and bike sharing into a single service in a medium-sized German city, to determine the impact of Mobility as a Service on carsharing use. This results in a structured overview of the business model and the implications of such concepts on user behavior and acceptance in the context of carsharing, based on a real-world dataset.