Review: City center concept 2002

Occasion

Many of the measures proposed in the 2002 city centre concept have been implemented in the last 10 years or are currently being implemented. This has brought about visible changes in the city center. The district government suggested taking stock of the 2002 city center concept and evaluating what has been achieved with regard to the ongoing development of the city center. This took the form of a structured review, which was less of a scientific evaluation than a positioning exercise.

Review and results

In retrospect, the years since 2002 have been prosperous years. More than two-thirds of the measures listed in the 2002 city center concept have been implemented or started. Together with the EuRegionale 2008 program (Route Charlemagne including the Centre Charlemagne and the Newspaper Museum) and Economic Stimulus Program 1 (cathedral renovation, cathedral information, open space world cultural heritage, Pfalzen research and town hall) and Economic Stimulus Program 2 (extension of the St. Leonhard grammar school with the design of the Prinzenhof - urban development funding), around € 54 million was spent on public building measures. With a funding rate of 66.6 % to 80 % for the most part, this means that around € 40 million was raised. Fortunately, many times more was financed privately at the same time: the extension of Kaufhof/Saturn, the Alte Posthof, the Aachen-Münchner buildings with the publicly financed pathway including the flight of steps, but also the buildings of the construction and real estate company for the RWTH (especially Super C, seminar building, conversion of the power station, technical center) fall into this decade.

With the aim of creating "streets full of life and squares full of time", the conversion of Ursulinerstrasse, the Holzgraben and Dahmengraben, the redesign of the Elisengarten and soon the Katschhof can be described as particularly successful - even if the type of design may not please everyone. However, it should not be concealed that key areas in the city center are still construction sites (or not even that) 10 years after the decision on the city center concept in 2002.

An overview of the contents and structures of the 2002 city center concept

The "City Center Concept 2002" master plan bundles measures within the avenue ring area, the primary aim of which is to raise the profile and strengthen the core areas of the city center as well as to create a powerful network. It was drawn up on behalf of the City of Aachen by the planning office Faltin, Scheuvens, Wachten in Dortmund in cooperation with SC STANDORT consult, Bad Segeberg.

Mission statement and key areas of action

The city's core areas, which are particularly important for its functionality and charisma, each need a clear profile, an attractive appearance that reflects Aachen's character and good links between them. The city's good reputation is a commitment to action on the part of all stakeholders in these core areas.

Link the business situation attractively!

For the shopping area, the idea is to create a connecting link that connects the two modern pedestrian zones via the market and the old town, thus forming the previously separate, linear spaces into a pedestrian network. The network nodes represent the various squares. These can be divided into busy and quiet areas. Katschhof, Hof or Elisengarten, for example, are places of tranquillity, while Marktplatz, Friedrich-Wilhelm-Platz or Willy-Brandt-Platz are places of activity. The start and end points (Hotmannspief and Kaiserplatz) play an important role, which is why these squares must be treated with particular care and upgraded in their function as gateways to the city center. The attractive redesign of Großkölnstrasse and Adalbertstrasse as well as the network closure by upgrading Ursulinerstrasse and Buchkremerstrasse and the Büchel area play a special role here. For this reason, the competition for Adalbertstrasse and Großkölnstrasse was held in parallel and in conjunction with the city center concept. Its results also provide the basis for further redesigns in the linking area.

Improve the entrées

The urban design of the area around the new bus station is also of decisive importance for the accessibility of the shopping area and for improved orientation qualities.
The problem areas of the urban layout and the cityscape are primarily located in the immediate vicinity of the bus station, at the junctions of Sandkaulstraße, Alexanderstraße, Komphausbadstraße and Kurhausstraße as well as in the junctions of Peterstraße, Blondelstraße and Stiftstraße. Wherever the proportions and dimensions of the public space in this area have changed and a coarse-grained building structure has developed as a result of time and function, there are considerable deficiencies in the cityscape and urban layout, which also lead to structural problems at the start of Großkölnstraße. Urban planning and design measures must lead to structural improvements here.

Enhance the university environment!

The university campus offers the opportunity to achieve a stronger integration of the university into the city by activating areas for uses that seek the immediate vicinity of the university or by increasing the attractiveness of the open spaces. The space potential also offers the opportunity to showcase the university's own performance. The extent of the space potential that can be activated must be examined and certainly requires a development concept for the university, which should also be linked to improved orientation in the university grounds themselves and in the northern city access road.

The focus areas

The framework plan for the station area outlines the measures required to upgrade the area and improve its connection to the city center. In view of the many scattered measures in different areas, three key areas have therefore emerged as part of the inner city development. Structural and design deficiencies overlap in these areas, and existing urban development potential is not being sufficiently exploited.

Networking the core areas

In future, inner city development must focus on strengthening the core areas in spatial and functional terms and, in this context, contribute to eliminating deficits and overcoming gaps. The main aim here is to further develop the hitherto patchy structure of the shopping areas into an exciting network structure. The clever interplay and linking of highly frequented pedestrian areas and attractive "quiet spaces" should make a sustainable contribution to a specific and attractive city center and thus strengthen its retail function. This requires a complementary relationship between places of activity and tranquillity, bustle and relaxation.

Key areas of action

• Linking the main shopping area via Büchel (with the location of the current parking garage), Buchkremerstrasse, Ursulinerstrasse and Elisengarten;
• Improvement of the entrance situation in the main shopping area around the bus station from Sandkaulstrasse via Kurhausstrasse and Komphausbadstrasse to Peterstrasse and Blondelstrasse;
• Upgrading of the university grounds within the avenue ring.

Old town district

Only one section of the city center is decisive for the image of the city and its charisma in the region: the old town. There, important city functions are grouped around a few streets and squares. The qualities of the old town should be further profiled in an offensive and self-confident manner, for example by means of uniform and advertising-free furnishings for outdoor catering, by developing design specifications and quality standards for outdoor advertising, by preserving and further developing the small-scale nature and exclusivity of the usage structures or by profiling gastronomic and cultural offerings.

Shopping district

Aachen's severely neglected shopping districts, which are in need of modernization, require consistent renewal. It will be particularly important to focus on the network of public spaces. Design, infrastructural and economic projects and strategies must be bundled in and along the streets and squares. This requires an intensive combination of private and public commitment.

University quarter

The area around the RWTH is a separate, isolated district in the city center. Despite its importance both for the people of Aachen and especially to the outside world, this area is not integrated into the city center. The entire university campus needs to be networked with the city center, it needs to be opened up. There is an opportunity here to achieve greater integration of the university into the city by activating areas for uses that seek direct proximity to the university or by increasing the attractiveness of the open spaces.

Station district

The aim here is to design one of the most important entrances to the city in such a way that visitors (unfamiliar with the area) can find their way around as quickly as possible and also find the uses they are looking for directly on foot; be it shopping in the areas in and around Adalbertstraße or in the Old Town area or as tourists, who should be guided to the historic core of the Old Town along attractive routes wherever possible.

Boulevard Theaterstraße

In the course of its structural development, especially in the 20th century, Theaterstrasse has increasingly become a preferred address for banks, commercial agencies, general agencies of insurance companies and trade associations. A very typical character of services is established here, which needs to be promoted. This can be achieved from the public side by supporting specific real estate management (development of strategies for relocation) on the part of the city's business development department, as well as through additional measures in the public space to make Theaterstrasse more attractive in order to promote the relocation of further companies in the service sector.

Residential area

The proverbial couple with two children is no longer typical of the demand on the inner-city housing market. On the other hand, single people and couples, but especially young people, are increasingly looking for living space for whom a lively neighborhood and the lack of green space do not appear to be a serious disadvantage. Appropriate apartments must be offered for these groups of people. Measures and projects to upgrade the residential environment must therefore go hand in hand with measures to secure and develop the existing housing stock, to prevent monostructures and also to improve the connection between the residential areas and the existing open spaces and parks.

The city center concept printed

The unabridged version of the master plan "Aachen City Center Concept 2002" can be purchased for a nominal fee of 5,- Euro + 1,- Euro shipping fee from the Department of Urban Development and Traffic Facilities of the City of Aachen.

Future areas and fields of action

There are still urban spaces such as around the Büchel parking lot, the bus station, Kaiserplatz, the area around the main railway station on the north side and the south side, which are priority areas for action for the continuation of the city center concept. The aim here is to initiate and support developments and to promote an urgently needed upgrading of public spaces.

Based on the evaluation, the following fields of action were identified as important for the update: Housing, mobility and environment, city marketing: trade, leisure and tourism, education, training and culture, building culture, process-oriented action in urban society - interaction and dialog with citizens.

In order to further qualify the theses of the evaluation, external experts were involved and their "view from the outside" was used to sharpen and supplement our own assessments. The approach from different sides made it possible to identify the need for action for sustainable urban development and to name the procedural steps for updating the city center concept.

Tasks - focal points of the work on the 2022 city center concept

At the meeting on August 30, 2012, the planning committee decided to have the city centre concept updated by Heinz Jahnen Pflüger from Aachen on the basis of the evaluation report and the future areas and fields of action described therein.

One focus will be on the areas of action described above.

A second is concerned with the spatial focus "The bus station and its surroundings". A workshop to prepare a competition is to be held in the near future.

A third will lie in dialog and interaction with citizens in the implementation of the field of action "Process-based action in urban society".

Political proposals

• Draft resolution 2012
  
• Resolution 2012