Die Mischung macht’s? Das Shopping-Center wird zum Mixed-Use-Center: Auswirkungen von Mixed-Use-Centern auf die Zukunftsfähigkeit der Innenstädte

Abstract

Green, compact, mixed, resilient, inclusive—the connotations for the (inner)city of the future are diverse and are often aimed at sustainable urban development. The way in which inner-city shopping centers promote this development through mixed use at the level of real estate (e.g., offices, apartments, or culture and education facilities) is examined in this article. For this purpose, in addition to literature, document, and online research, expert interviews were conducted. The results show that mixed-use shopping centers contain both chances of and risks for a vitalized, resilient, and sustainable city (development). On the one hand, conversions and redensification generate alternative reasons for visiting and diminish vacancies, reduce impervious surfaces, the consumption of resources and potentially traffic, and can have a socially integrative effect by including noncommercial uses. On the other hand, mixed-use centers can compromise the aims of the inner-city development by making visiting the existing uses obsolete, intensify the (socially) exclusive character of the center by highly priced uses, and can increase the traffic volume. However, if the negative effects are prevented by early considerations regarding the type and number of uses, as well as the complementarity with the existing city-center offer, mixed-use centers can serve as a potential component for the gradual transformation of city centers. Based on these results, recommendations for action are determined at the end of the article.