City council adopts forward-looking housing land policy for Jena

The city of Jena has adopted a pioneering residential land policy that focuses on sustainability, social balance and climate protection. This resolution, which was introduced jointly by the CDU, SPD, Bündnis 90/Die Grünen and FDP parliamentary groups and the city administration and passed by a large majority at the most recent meeting of the city council, reflects the city's long-term vision of shaping housing construction in line with demand and improving the quality of life for all citizens. The city of Jena was guided by the so-called Ulm model when drawing up the basic decision.

The guiding principle of the new housing land policy comprises seven central points, including the creation of housing by 2035 with a target of 4,830 apartments and the promotion of social and climate policy goals through targeted urban land-use planning procedures. The city of Jena is also aiming for a fair distribution of development costs between planning beneficiaries and the city.

"With the Jena building land model, we are taking a pioneering step in urban development. By strategically acquiring land and cooperatively developing residential construction sites, we can make housing construction more needs-oriented, social and sustainable in the future. If the city council and the administration continue to succeed in working together in such a non-partisan and cooperative manner in the development of residential land, this decision will decisively strengthen the role of the city in the development of building land and will shape Jena's urban development for decades to come," says Mayor and Head of Urban Development and Environment Christian Gerlitz.

Focus on the creation of subsidized housing

The residential building land model is made up of several strategic building blocks, including the development of municipal land, strategic land acquisition and long-term land supply policy as well as the cooperative development of residential building land. Particular attention is paid to the creation of subsidized housing and the involvement of private companies in the development of building land.

In order to implement these ambitious goals, the Lord Mayor is instructed to determine the additional financial and personnel costs and to initiate appropriate measures. In addition, binding regulations are to be drawn up in order to ensure that the project sponsors benefiting from the planning contribute appropriately to the costs of building land development.

The Lord Mayor is also instructed to inform the public about the contents of the building land model in a city dialog and to report regularly on the progress of the Jena building land model.

Background information: Residential building land concept in Jena

The "Jena 2035 residential building land concept" forecasts the future demand for housing and identifies potential building land areas up to 2035. Although the preliminary draft of the land use plan takes these areas into account, no rapid mobilization of building land can be derived from this alone. The city has limited land of its own, and land acquisition is difficult due to the tight market.

Publicly subsidized housing is crucial to ensure a socially acceptable housing supply. Despite a decline in the stock since 2015, subsidized housing construction has not been sufficiently realized due to a lack of funding. The short supply of housing is leading to rising rents and building land prices, which in some cases is causing families to move to the surrounding area.

The city of Jena has decided to develop its own building land model to take account of the city's specific conditions. An inter-factional working group was set up to develop this "Jena model", with representatives from the city administration, Kommunale Immobilien Jena and all city council factions involved. The group examined various building land models from other cities and held discussions with experts and representatives from Ulm and Münster.

It was found that Jena has particular restrictions compared to other cities, including topographical constraints, limited municipal land and a low availability of subsidies. A standardized building land model is therefore not expedient and a tailor-made concept for Jena is required.

The city council has decided to introduce a "Jena residential building land model" to enable more transparent procedures and more reliable calculations for project developers. This model is intended to acquire land for social housing and communal living and support urban development in the long term. Successful implementation requires the support of the city council and long-term cooperation across legislative periods.

The building land decision has primarily strategic effects and will only make the climate impact relevant in later implementation phases of urban land use planning. It is expected that the model will help to promote sustainable, socially just and climate-friendly urban development in Jena.