|
Abstract： |
Compared with many other western countries in Europe, the urban system of Germany is well balanced. Benefiting from more than 2 000 years of city development and strong local autonomy, as well as from federalism and powerful state governments, small, medium and large cities are evenly distributed all over the country, all offering quite equal living conditions and easy access to public infrastructure and services. Following a concise definition of small and medium-sized cities and towns, this paper sketches the historical rationale of balanced urban development and the function of medium-sized cities and small towns in Germany. It illustrates some implication of ongoing metropolisation processes for these cities and presents the city region of Nuremberg as a pertinent example of a region with many successful medium-sized cities and small towns. At the end the paper gives a brief overview of federal policies and programmes to support the development of cities and towns. |
