Over 260,000 people live in Aachen. Different needs and life situations come together here - whether you live in a single household, with your family, in a shared flat or in a communal housing project.
© City of Aachen / Martin Jordan
Creating affordable and needs-based housing for people in all walks of life is a key challenge in the city of Aachen and is a particular focus of policy and administrative action. Aachen's housing market is characterized by a number of dynamic developments and challenges. The local supply and demand situation is shaped by a population that has grown continuously over the years, declining land resources and rising prices for rental and owner-occupied properties.
Housing development
© City of Aachen / Martin Jordan
Housing creation as a challenge and neighborhood development, taking into account the local social structure, must be conceptually interlinked, as housing projects have a significant and, above all, long-term influence on the local social structures of the city. Conversely, looking at neighborhoods and, for example, the local population composition enables the successful and needs-based implementation of housing projects in the local environment.
Integrated neighborhood development
City of Aachen / Marcus Meierhöfer
Future forestry
Forst and its sub-areas Unterforst, Altforst, Schönforst, Forster Linde, Obere Trierer Straße and Driescher Hof will be strengthened for the future and made more attractive and liveable. From the Rothe Erde train station along both sides of Trierer Strasse to the 44 freeway, the quality of life and living conditions are to be visibly improved and cohesion in the neighborhood noticeably strengthened.
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City of Aachen / Andreas Herrmann
Beverau
With a population of around 4,300, Beverau is a district that is particularly affected by demographic change compared to other districts. In order to shape the transformation of the neighborhood, the city of Aachen has developed an integrated urban development concept (ISEK), which outlines an overall perspective for the sustainable development of the neighborhood.
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City of Aachen / Andreas Herrmann
Preuswald
In Aachen, social planning and housing development work closely together to upgrade urban neighborhoods. The Preuswald district is a pilot model for integrated neighborhood development.
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Building & living in community
City of Aachen
The Coordination Office for Community Building and Housing is the central point of contact for anyone who wants to set up a community housing project or join an initiative.
Shared housing projects combine the desire for affordable living space and social participation, with future residents creating their own needs-based living space through co-development. Traditional social structures are changing and job mobility means that the nuclear family rarely stays in the same place. "Families of choice" and social neighborhoods are therefore playing an increasingly important role and are an important factor in the search for a suitable form of housing.
Housing action plan
City of Aachen
The housing action plan is a strategic and implementation-oriented analysis and planning instrument that serves to analyze local development processes and, on this basis, to develop future-oriented strategies and measures for the local housing market.
To the action plan (PDF)
Fields of action of the action plan (PDF)
History
On May 11, 2022, the Aachen City Council adopted the Housing Action Plan as the city's future overall housing policy strategy. In future, municipal housing development will benefit from tailor-made strategies, instruments and measures that address the specific challenges facing the city of Aachen on the housing market.
Fields of action
Affordable / publicly subsidized housing and social housing provision
The state of North Rhine-Westphalia promotes housing with long-term, low-cost and partially interest-free loans. On application, repayment discounts are also granted on the approved loans.
In return, this creates rent and occupancy commitments that benefit in particular those groups of people who are disadvantaged in terms of housing supply and who are dependent on affordable housing due to their income situation.
The aim of housing promotion is to create housing for people who cannot adequately provide for themselves on the market or to adapt existing housing to the requirements of demographic change and to upgrade its energy efficiency.
In addition, qualitative requirements are placed on the living space that are tailored to the respective needs of the groups of people (families, households with children, pregnant women, older people and people with disabilities, students).
Neighborhood orientation as a focus of housing policy action
Neighborhood analysis focus area Driescher Hof
In September and October 2022, the City of Aachen's Department of Housing, Social Affairs and Integration conducted an empirical survey of residents in the Driescher Hof district. The survey focused on residents' perceptions of the Driescher Hof district and their living environment, what they think makes the neighborhood special, where they like to spend time in the district and where there may be room for improvement.
Land mobilization in existing settlements and building land development
Immediate program to generate additional residential units
Developable land within Aachen's urban area is finite. In order to be able to create and expand living space despite this, the city of Aachen has initiated various measures together with politicians and the Aachen housing industry.
University development and housing
The city would be unthinkable without the diversity of student life. Its attractiveness as a place to study draws many young people to Aachen every year, creating a high demand for suitable living space. In Aachen, special attention must therefore be paid to student housing.
Regional and euregional housing development
Inter-municipal and cross-border cooperation in housing development will be of particular importance in the future. Housing knows no administrative boundaries and therefore also requires regional and euregional cooperation and measures.