Large German Cities Research Articles

Impact of the temporary closure of a major bridge on local air quality in two large German cities: an accountability study

Despite recent achievements in reducing the contribution of road traffic to air pollution, agreed pollutant standards are exceeded frequently in large parts of Europe. Previous studies assessed the effectiveness of traffic interventions in improving local air quality. However, little research exists on the effect of closures of short road sections over longer periods. The multi-week maintenances on the Theodor Heuss Bridge, the main connection over the river Rhine between the German cities Mainz and Wiesbaden, offered the opportunity to investigate its effect on local air pollution. We measured ambient concentrations of major air pollutants and meteorological parameters at the Theodor Heuss Bridge before, during, and after its closure on 800 m in early 2020. We carried out time-series and closure-dependent evaluations of pollutant concentrations at the bridge accounting for wind direction. Furthermore, we performed regression analyses accounting for wind speed additionally. We compared the results with data from surrounding monitoring stations. We recorded higher concentrations at the Theodor Heuss Bridge compared to outside the closure, especially for particulate matter, nitric oxide, and black carbon. Only with wind from specific directions, we could detect reductions of concentrations during the closure for many pollutants as nitrogen dioxide (− 9.8%; 95% confidence interval: − 10.8– − 8.7%), but not for particulate matter. Since we found similar meteorology-dependent pollution reductions during the closure at both the bridge and the surrounding monitoring stations, we assume that regional meteorological factors overlaid a potential closure-related effect on local air quality. These factors must be accounted for in accountability studies on interventions focusing on short roads.

SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence and determinants of infection in young adults: a population-based seroepidemiological study

ObjectivesMost SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence studies have focussed on adults and high-risk populations, and little is known about young adults. The objective of the present study was to provide evidence on the SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence among young adults in Germany and to explore determinants associated with seropositivity in general and, specifically, with previously undetected infections. Study designThis was a population-based SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence study. MethodsIn November 2020, a population-based study on SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence in young adults (aged 18–30 years) was conducted in a large German city. Serum samples were obtained to analyse the SARS-CoV-2 antibody status using the Elecsys Anti-SARS-CoV-2 immunoassay. Descriptive statistics and odds ratios (ORs) of seropositivity and of previously undetected infections in relation to different determinants were calculated. ResultsAmong 2186 participants, SARS-CoV-2 antibodies were detected in 72 individuals, equalling a test performance-adjusted seroprevalence of 3.1% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.4–4.0). Based on reported COVID-19 cases to the public health authority, a moderate underascertainment rate of 1.7 was calculated. Seropositivity was higher among individuals who sought COVID-19-related information from social media (OR: 1.83, 95% CI: 1.2–3.1), and undetected COVID-19 infections were more prevalent among men and those not adhering to social distancing. ConclusionsThe results show a substantial underascertainment of SARS-CoV-2 infections among young adults and indicate that seroprevalence is likely to be much higher than the reported COVID-19 prevalence based on confirmed COVID-19 cases in Germany. Preventive efforts should consider the heterogeneity of risk profiles among the young adult population.

“Police spatial knowledge” – Aspects of spatial constitutions by the police

PurposeThe article presents research results of an ethnographic survey within the German police. The focus is on practices of spatial production and the functions of spaces.Design/methodology/approachThe article draws on data from the DFG-funded research project KORSIT (Social Construction of security-related Spaces) based on an ethnographic survey in the German police force (https://www.dhpol.de/korsit). Participant observations were conducted in police stations in two large German cities (pseudonymised as “Dillenstadt” and “Rosenberg”). It involved 60 guided interviews with police officers at different levels of the hierarchy, as well as further interviews with local and societal actors for contrasting purposes. The data was analysed on the basis of grounded theory (Strauss and Cobin, 1996).FindingsThis paper shed light on institutional spatial knowledge, which is the basis of police practices, is preceded by experience-based narratives. In an expanded perspective, the paper argues that urban spaces themselves can be understood as materialisations of social practices that serve as social demarcation that legitimise unequal styles of action in the different precinct within the German police. In terms of a relational conceptualisation of space, it is shown that the categories of ethnicity and gender interrelate within the institutional production of space.Originality/valueThe article links organisational research with sociological spatial research and provides basic explanatory models on the conditions of emergence and the persistence of discriminatory practices within the police.

Short-term association between COVID-19 related deaths, hospitalized patients and air pollution during the first lockdown in the four largest cities in Germany

ABSTRACT Identifying risk factors of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) for its clinical course became important during the current global health crisis. This study explores the relationship between ambient air quality and the clinical course of COVID-19 during the first German lockdown. Daily air pollutant concentrations (PM10, O3 and NO2) and confirmed COVID-19-related hospital cases and deaths in the four largest German cities are used for multivariate regression analysis to study the correlation of air pollutants with COVID-19-related hospitalised or ICU patients and deaths. A significant positive association of O3 with patients and deaths is observed. NO2 shows a positive correlation with hospitalised and ICU patients. A 10 µg/m3 increase in O3 is linked to a 27% (95% CI: 15% to 39%) increase of COVID-19-related deaths. However, PM10 is associated with a decrease in deaths. Altogether, these findings indicate that air pollutants seem to have a significant influence on the course of COVID-19 infections.

Medycyna i nacjonalizm – stacja szpitalna na cmentarzu żydowskim we Wrocławiu

Medicine and Nationalism – a hospital station at the Jewish cemetery in Wrocław Between 1941 and 1945, in some regions of the Third Reich, Jews were allowed to function, if, among other things, they had non-Jewish spouses or were considered, according to racial purity laws, to be so-called „Mischlings”. German half-blood Jews, due to the Aryan blood element, were initially not affected by persecution to the same extent as full-blood Jews. In theory, they could, for example, seek exemption from racial laws, did not have to pay Jewish property tax or wear the Star of David. They were also spared during the first deportations. The question of the extermination of German Jews in mixed marriages or those who were categorised as being of „mixed descent” was repeatedly raised in National Socialist offices and institutions but was never finally resolved. In line with the National Socialist racial ideology, separate medical facilities had to be established for this social group, providing health care services. Such centres were set up from 1943 onwards in the larger German cities where there were still relatively large numbers of Jews. They were opened on the Gestapo’s orders as so-called hospital stations (Krankenstation). Such institutions operated in: Berlin, Breslau (now Wrocław), Frankfurt am Main, Hamburg and Cologne. An abandoned administrative building located in the Jewish cemetery at what was then Flughafenstraße 51 (now Lotnicza Street) in the Cosel (Kozanów) district was designated as the headquarters of the Wrocław facility, which egan operating on 1 July 1943.

Costs and optimisation options for monitoring of indirect dischargers

Abstract Monitoring of indirect and industrial dischargers, respectively, makes an important contribution to the safe and environmentally sound operation of wastewater systems. As a result of local framework conditions, there is a wide range of monitoring practices across Germany. In a benchmarking project, ten sewerage operators and monitoring bodies representing large German cities have collected data on their work and discussed their practices. The results show that the extent of monitoring is between 244 and 1,457 monitoring points per sewer network (given as 15th and 85th percentile). The median value of the specific expense is 689 EUR per monitoring point and year. In relation to the total wastewater fee volume, the median expense is 0.71%. The sub-process ‘sampling’ was examined more closely. By means of detailed process mapping and regression analyses, it can be shown that on-site activities and tours have the largest share of working time (total of 72%) and thus the greatest leverage in optimisation measures. Various examples are given.

The relationship between dental anxiety and other kinds of anxiety: a naturalistic, cross-sectional and comparative study

BackgroundDental anxiety is of public health importance because it leads to postponed dental treatment, which comes with health complications. The present study investigated whether there is a correlation between the degree of dental anxiety and other kinds of anxiety and whether there are prognostic factors for the different kinds of anxiety.MethodIn the sample (N = 156) from a dental practice in a large German city, 62% of patients received a check-examination and 38% received dental surgery. The target variables were recorded with validated questionnaires: dental anxiety (IDAF-4c+), subclinical anxiety (SubA), anxiety of negative evaluation (SANB-5), current general anxiety (STAI state), loneliness (LS-S) and self-efficacy (GSW-6). The applied statistics were: t-tests for 31 variables, correlation matrix and multivariate and bivariate regression analyses.ResultsThe dental surgery patients displayed more dental anxiety and more dental interventions than the check-examination group. The main result was a positive correlation of all kinds of anxiety with each other, a positive correlation of loneliness and neuroticism with all forms of anxiety and a negative correlation between all forms of anxiety and self-efficacy. Especially dental anxiety is positively associated with other kinds of anxiety. In multivariate regression models only neuroticism is associated with dental anxiety, but feelings of loneliness are positively associated with with the other kinds of anxiety assessed in this study. The higher the self-efficacy, the lower the level of general anxiety.ConclusionsIn dentistry, anxiety from negative experiences with buccal interventions should be distinguished from anxiety caused by personality traits. Self-efficacy tends to protect against anxiety, while loneliness and neuroticism are direct or indirect risk factors for anxiety in this urban dentistry sample. Dental anxiety seems to be independent from biographical strains but not from neuroticism. In practice, more attention must be paid to anxiety control, self-management and efforts to improve the confidence of patients with emotional lability, less self-confidence and propensity to shame.

Urban planners as boundary spanners: Steering perceptions of asylum seeker accommodations in Germany

Since its open-door policy for welcoming asylum seekers in 2015, Germany has experienced a resurgence of anti-immigrant sentiments and a backlash against the safeguarding of human rights. Such perceptions of asylum seekers and their accommodation are shaped in urban neighborhoods, where street-level bureaucrats try steering such perceptions. While much literature has discussed how immigrant affairs departments promote intercultural encounter or acceptance of diversity, we know relatively little so far if and when urban planners steer perceptions of migration-related diversity. Yet, urban planners work closely with residents in urban regeneration programs and were confronted with residents’ anxieties about the potential impact of the asylum seeker accommodation when large reception centers were opened in 2015. The article aims to fill a gap in the literature. Based on two in-depth case studies it shows how structural contexts inform whether urban planners span disciplinary boundaries and act as broker between residents and the state in order to steer perceptions of asylum seeker accommodations. The article is based on field research and qualitative interviews in two large German cities. The article contributes to literatures on perceptions of migration and diversity, urban planning and urban regeneration, street-level bureaucracy, boundary spanning and brokerage.

Presentation of a participatory approach to develop preventive measures to reduce COVID-19 transmission in child care

BackgroundIt can be suspected that work in child care facilities is associated with an elevated exposure risk towards SARS-CoV-2 infections. It is still unclear under which conditions employees in those facilities can safely pursue their work. Preventive workplace-related measures to reduce transmission dynamics in this work environment need to be developed. These measures need to build on a solid scientific foundation and be ready for practical use at the same time. Therefore, the aim of the study is to present a participatory approach to identify, minimize, and eliminate workplace-specific COVID-19 transmission within child care. The approach presented combines quantitative as well as qualitative elements and includes a screening of critical workplace conditions and the development of preventive measures to foster a safe workplace design.MethodsFirst, 428 employees of different child care facilities in a large German city reported their subjective risk of infection, fear of infection, and support received by the employer. Second, the participants commented in detail about high risk conditions during work. Third, employees provided suggestions for preventive measures. We conducted a qualitative analysis of free text answers to evaluate which aspects are perceived as critical from an employee perspective.ResultsParticipants provided valuable and practicable ideas on how to design and improve preventive measures to reduce COVID-19 transmission in child care dealing with structural conditions, the interaction with the parents, the implementation of preventive measures and recommendations for policy makers.ConclusionsThese new insights help to organize pandemic risk management in order to align theoretical based measures with the practical realization. We encourage researchers to adapt the approach presented to other work areas in order to foster participation of employees in work design to reduce COVID-19 transmission.

Does Car-Sharing Reduce Car Ownership? Empirical Evidence from Germany

The sharing economy is making its way into our everyday lives. One of its business models, car-sharing, has become highly popular. Can it help us increase our sustainability? Besides emissions and vehicle miles traveled, one key aspect in the assessment regards the effect of car-sharing on car ownership. Previous studies investigating this effect have relied almost exclusively on surveys and come to very heterogeneous results, partly suggesting spectacular substitution rates between shared and private cars. This study empirically explores the impact of car-sharing on noncorporate car ownership and car markets in 35 large German cities. The analysis draws on publicly available data for the years 2012, 2013, 2015, and 2017, including, among others, the number of shared cars per operating mode (free-floating and station-based) and the number of cars owned and registered by private individuals (i.e., excluding company cars). We find that one additional station-based car is associated with a reduction of about nine private cars. We do not find a statistically significant relation between car ownership and free-floating car-sharing. Neither type of car-sharing appears to impact the markets for used and new cars significantly. Given the measurable impacts on car ownership levels, this result is surprising and invites future research to study car-sharing’s impact on the dynamics of car markets.

Hitler’s Northern Utopia: Building the New Europe in Occupied Europe

History has addressed the many wishful and often contradictory dreams within Nazi Germany’s polity pertaining to Europe’s future. Few survived the imperatives of war, but many of those that did caused devastating effects. The idea of a European New Order, central to this book—an ambiguous notion in the first place—crumbled as Adolf Hitler’s war fortunes disappeared.Various disciplines have brought value added to the historical understanding of the Nazi endeavors and visions, including architecture. Stratigakos’ book elaborates the character and purpose of Nazi physical aesthetics and the Nazi assumption that technology complemented nature. By focusing on Norway, Stratigakos successfully explicates the utopian dreams of a society holding a privileged position in the Nazi racial hierarchy.The short introduction neither assesses relevant scholarship nor raises an overall research question. Stratigakos describes the book’s purpose only indirectly—to show how “the physical conditions for a national socialist revolution in Norway would … involve developing novel forms and types of architecture in response to native landscapes and traditions” (8). The first chapter convincingly shows the romanticizing of Norway by the press and how it connected to Nazi racial prejudices. Each of the chapters that follow deals with construction plans and programs. The first chapter presents the general infrastructure program covering roads, bridges, railroads, and the highway project intended to connect Trondheim to the European network. The next chapter discusses a program for building soldiers’ homes. Chapter 3 deals with the ambition to shape urban landscapes when resurrecting bombed towns, and Chapter 4 details the plans for building a large new German city close to Trondheim.All four chapters, even the slightly out of place section on the Lebensborn interior in Chapter 2, impressively narrate how the expression of a magnificent Germanness, and the creation of a National Socialist community with and among the Norwegians, was supposed to unfold through construction and architecture. Grounded in scholarship and new sources, these chapters are all informative and convincing. The conclusion, however, is disappointing. A redundant narrative about legacies and impacts, it does not produce a synthesis from the material that precedes it, leaving an unresolved ambiguity and a failure to take account of methodological limitations.The chapters show wishful thinking and aborted plans. The highway to Trondheim, the polar railway to Kirkenes, and the new town near Trondheim never came to fruition. Given that few of the new buildings materialized and that the scheme for soldiers’ homes was only partly implemented, why does Stratigakos methodically treat the projects as though they left legacies and long-term impacts? An answer may lie in the following quotation: “The superhighway between Trondheim and Berlin may not have gotten off the drawing board, but many roads were built, especially in northern Norway and coastal areas” (230). The problem, however, is that Stratigakos does not discuss a wider road program. Be that as it may, the roads that the Nazis did manage to build reflected not a vision of German Autobahn aesthetics nor an idyll of future peacetime tourism but the practical wartime imperative of bearing the weight of heavy military vehicles. Similarly, the new town near Trondheim was planned as a heavy naval base because the Nazis envisioned the area as a bridgehead for the North Atlantic and the polar waters. Trondheim was the chosen destination for the projected new highway because the new naval installation nearby could have held 300,000 Germans. Arguably, the anticipated highway’s function would have matched that of the anticipated main Highway IV stretching from Poland through the Caucasus to reach the large German population supposed to be working the Soviet oilfields.Stratigakos’ focus on architectural aesthetics and design may not have been the best methodology for a study of the Nazis’ pipe dreams and harebrained schemes in Norway; it obscures the exigencies of war and existing resource constraints. She might have avoided the ambiguities in the book had she formulated a research design justified by the relevant historiography.

Towards a differentiated notion of the mainstream: superdiversity and residents’ conceptions of immigrant integration

ABSTRACT Recent critiques of integration and superdiversity scholarship pointed out a need to pay more attention to the positioning of established residents, also referred to as 'the mainstream', and to develop novel understandings of urban residents’ reactions to and contestations of the presence of newcomers. Drawing on ethnographic insights from 2015 in a large German city, this article identifies a spectrum of reactions to the installation of a large reception centre for asylum seekers among residents involved in a neighbourhood renewal programme. It delineates how established residents themselves mobilize an integration discourse, associate newcomers with an economic burden and rely on the state for integrating them. Drawing on the notion of ‘Emplacement’, the article highlights how established residents’ occupation with newcomers' integration can be understood in relation to their activity of carving out their place in contemporary diverse and stratified urban environments.

How a Lack of Green in the Residential Environment Lowers the Life Satisfaction of City Dwellers and Increases Their Willingness to Relocate

This paper investigates whether various forms of green spaces in the residential environment are associated with city dwellers’ life satisfaction and their willingness to relocate. Previous research on different forms of green spaces in the residential environment as a direct source of life satisfaction is scarce, and we know little about whether green spaces affect the decision to relocate. We address these topics with a two-equation model that estimates respondents’ considerations to relocate while accounting for life satisfaction. With this strategy, we are able to test which aspects of residential greenery (window view, green environment, green yard, own garden, and balcony) are associated with one or both outcomes, controlling for life-course events and demographic characteristics. The data come from a primary survey conducted in two large German cities, Cologne and Hamburg, in 2020/21 (N = 1886). The results show that not having green elements in the window view, not having a green yard, and—exclusively for parents—not having a garden increase the likelihood of considering residential relocation. Not having a balcony and not having a garden are directly associated with decreased life satisfaction, and decreased life satisfaction triggers the willingness to relocate.

Interest in Sexually Transmitted Infections: Analysis of Web Search Data Terms in Eleven Large German Cities from 2015 to 2019.

Incidence of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) such as chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis has increased in recent years in the US and in European countries. In order to implement effective educational programs, the interests of target populations have to be identified. Since the internet is an important source of information-gathering on health issues, this study investigates web search data in large German cities related to STIs. Google Ads Keyword Planner was used to identify STI-related terms and their search volume in eleven German cities from June 2015 to May 2019. The data obtained were analyzed descriptively with regard to total search volumes, search volumes of specific thematic areas, and search volumes per 100,000 inhabitants. Overall, 741 terms with a total search volume of 5,142,560 queries were identified, with more than 70% of all search queries including a specific disease and “chlamydia” being the overall most often searched term (n = 1,196,160). Time courses of search behavior displayed a continuous interest in STIs with synchronal and national rather than regional peaks. Volumes of search queries lacked periodic patterns. Based on the findings of this study, a more open public discussion about STIs with linkage to increased media coverage and clarification of responsibilities among all STI-treating disciplines concerning management of STIs seem advisable.

High Variability of COVID-19 Case Fatality Rate in Germany

During the first wave of the COVID-19 diseases high case fatality rates (CFR) were noticed. Due to the dire consequences WHO guidelines recommended immediate intubation for patients with dyspnoea which has since been questioned after reviewing the initial clinical outcome. Methods: PCR confirmed infection rates along with mortality data was obtained for all German districts from 27 Jan 2020 until 15 Feb 2021 using official data sources. A moving average CFRt was constructed by dividing disease related deaths two weeks after a given index days by the number of infections two weeks prior to that date. In addition to an international comparison, mortality data between the second and third largest German cities were also compared. Results: Mean CFR is estimated to be 2.92 based on 71.965 fatalities and 2.465.407 cases. There was a large regional scattering of CFRs across the regional districts. Differences of the mortality pattern were observed also at state level and preserved across different sex and age groups while being largely independent of case numbers. Although Munich city had higher infection rates, more patients died during the first wave in Hamburg (OR 1.6, 95% CI 1.3-1.9) which was mirrored also by higher death risk at Hamburg intensive care units (OR 2.0, 95% CI 1.3-3.1). While the majority of Munich hospitals favoured a conservative management of hypoxemia including high flow nasal cannula (HFNC), Hamburg hospitals followed a more aggressive scheme of mechanical ventilation (MV). Austria and Switzerland experienced higher CFRs than Germany during the first wave but after changing treatment guidelines, both countries experienced lower CFRs during the second wave. Conclusion: Different case fatality rates have been observed across Germany that are most likely caused by different treatment strategies.Funding Statement: The author declares that they had no external funding regarding the current analysis.Declaration of Interests: The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest regarding the current manuscript. Ethics Approval Statement: As only public data have ben included, no ethics committee has beeninvolved.

Exploring the determinants of real estate liquidity from an alternative perspective: censored quantile regression in real estate research

In this paper, the liquidity (inverse of time on market) of rental dwellings and its determinants for different liquidity quantiles are examined for the seven largest German cities. The determinants are estimated using censored quantile regressions in order to investigate the impact on very liquid to very illiquid dwellings. As market heterogeneity is not only observed between cities but also within a city, each of the seven cities is considered individually. Micro data for almost 500,000 observations from 2013 to 2017 is used to examine the time on market. Substantial differences in the magnitude and direction of the regression coefficients for the different liquidity quantiles are found. Furthermore, both the magnitude and direction of the impact of an explanatory variable on the liquidity, differ between the cities. To the best of the authors’ knowledge this is the first paper, to apply censored quantile regressions to liquidity analysis of the real estate rental market. The model reveals that the proportionality assumption underlying the Cox proportional hazards model cannot be confirmed for all variables across all cities, but for most of them.

La periferia en la ciudad alemana: de la ciudad-jardín a la Siedlung moderna

<p class="VLCResumen">This article examines how the most recognisable urban forms of the Siedlung in the first postwar period in Germany were influenced by previous experiences in the construction of the urban periphery involving the company town and the garden city. The adaptation of these peripheral settlements – in which the desired balance between the country house and the urban dwelling was achieved by introducing terraced housing – to meet certain requirements of sufficient density to satisfy the growing demand for small dwellings was to determine the final configuration of the “modern Siedlung,” the settlement characteristic of the expansion of the large German city in the 1920s. An urban form that was to combat the housing shortage problem by providing systematic, medium-density housing groups consisting mainly of linear buildings several storeys high integrated with the open space in a remarkable balance between building and nature. On the basis of original sources from that period, this text addresses noteworthy aspects of this evolution towards a spatial, functional and aesthetic shaping of the collective accommodation characteristic of a Modernist German urbanism which still deserves to be taken into consideration in the current discussion about urban density.</p>

Victimization and Its Consequences for Well-Being: A Between- and Within-Person Analysis

ObjectivesWe examined the effects of victimization on several aspects of well-being in a longitudinal study of a general population sample. Previous research has often been inconclusive, as it was largely based on cross-sectional data and prone to problems of unobserved heterogeneity and selection bias. We examined both between-person differences and within-person changes in well-being in relation to property and violent victimization. We investigated psychological and behavioral dimensions of well-being, controlling for and comparing with the effects of other negative life events.MethodsWe used data from a two-wave panel survey of 2928 respondents aged 25–89 nested in 140 neighborhoods in two large German cities. We applied random-effects modeling to separate between-person from within-person effects.ResultsThe within-person detrimental effects of victimization were considerably smaller than between-person effects, which reflected preexisting, time-stable factors that distinguish individuals who have experienced victimization from individuals who have not. Detrimental effects concerned fear of crime, generalized trust, and neighborhood satisfaction, but did not extend to emotional well-being or life satisfaction, in contrast to other negative life events. We found empirical support both for adaptation (‘recovery’) effects as well as for anticipation effects. Violent victimization had stronger effects than property victimization, and victimization near the home had stronger effects than victimization elsewhere.ConclusionThe findings indicate that violent victimization has palpable detrimental effects on security perceptions, trust and neighborhood satisfaction—but not on emotional well-being and life satisfaction—and that individuals largely recover from the victimization within 18 months.

Urban food policies in German city regions: An overview of key players and policy instruments

Although food is an emerging topic on municipal policy and planning agendas, a systematic examination of policy development, its implementation and the instruments used at the urban level is lacking. This study was carried out with the aim of gaining new insights into the prevalence of certain food policy instruments and capacity of policy action. In order to do so, we developed an analytical framework to investigate urban policy and planning approaches related to food issues and applied it in ten large German cities. First, we identified different actor groups and analysed their role in urban food policy (level of involvement in municipal food projects). We then studied the variety of policy and planning instruments and their application for different elements in the food system. For the empirical study, we employed a case study approach and utilised data gathering methods of qualitative research, i.e. expert interviews and document analysis. Our empirical findings in the studied cities reveal that urban food policy activities are still very fragmented and often based on individual initiatives within the administration. Integrated urban food policies and their implementation through urban food strategies are still an exception in major cities in Germany. We found that municipal actors follow mainly sectoral approaches, using a wide array of steering instruments, i.e. informational instruments and public procurement policies. However, their capacities for policy implementation remain limited due to missing financial and staffing resources. Accordingly, the potential the urban food system offers for sustainable development through multifunctionality and sectoral integration, is still underexploited.The systematic approach developed in this study may contribute to a better understanding of different policy approaches taken. The applied typology of policy instruments might also be useful for identifying effective ways to implement urban food strategies, to understand mismatches between instruments and different policy domains, levels and administrative units, e.g. at the urban-rural interface, and to design of new policy instruments.

Spatio-Temporal Distribution of Tuberculosis in an Urban Setting in Germany.

Big cities in Europe have the highest incidence rates of TB in otherwise low incidence settings. Understanding of the spatio-temporal patterns of TB incidence can support efforts for TB prevention and control in line with the End-TB Strategy of the WHO in such settings for low incidence settings. Data from the municipal TB register of Cologne collected between 2006 and 2015 under the infection prevention legislation were retrieved, addresses geographically identified and all notified incident TB cases retrospectively analysed for their spatial and temporal distribution in this large German city using a geographic information system. During the analysed period 1,038 incident cases were reported, equivalent to an incidence rate of 10.03 cases per 100,000 inhabitants. Contagious pulmonary TB contributed 57 % of all cases. Distribution patterns changed over time with decreases in 37 and increases in 22 of the 77 urban sub-districts, three of which showing constant high rates of TB incidence. The study presents a complementary method to monitor the distribution and development of incident TB cases at a disaggregated level of urban sub-districts. Identification of areas with comparatively high incidence can support identification of clusters respectively their prevention and allow better planning for targeted local TB services.