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Department of Spatial Planning

IMPULS - The regional forum in the World Heritage town of Quedlinburg

© IRPUD​/​TU Dortmund
IMPULS - Regional Forum in Quedlinburg (front: Prof. Dr. Stefan Greiving)

Demographic change is not only leading to (impending) gaps in services in sparsely populated areas of Germany, but is also threatening higher-quality services in medium-sized and regional centers. Securing services of general interest confronts the municipalities in the Harz region with a particular challenge. The IMPULS project is addressing this challenge.

On June 19, 2023, the IMPULS regional forum with regional stakeholders took place at Palais Salfeldt in the World Heritage town of Quedlinburg. As part of the interactive format, numerous experts from the region came together to discuss the development goals for the potential functional regional higher-order center, consisting of the cities of Halberstadt, Wernigerode and the World Heritage City of Quedlinburg.

In the first working round, four groups validated the analyses and interim results of the project and discussed the mission statement for the functional Harz regional center. In the second working round, the experts worked in four working groups on each of the prioritized fields of action (education and research, accessibility and mobility, administration and administration of justice in combination with large-scale retail and medical care) to discuss the proposed guiding principles and measures.

© agl
IMPULS - Regional forum in Quedlinburg

During the work phases of the regional forum, it became clear that the towns of Wernigerode, Halberstadt and the World Heritage town of Quedlinburg are pursuing a common goal for the region. It is important to continue to act together, strengthen cooperation between the three towns and thus continue on the path to a functionally shared regional higher-order center place. Overall, the event was very successful and informative.

The next steps within the IMPULS project relate to the further processing of the fields of action, the finalization of the development concept for the Harz higher-order central place, the establishment of the cooperation model and the drafting of a regional planning contract.