Thursday, November 18, 2021
People are drawn to the surrounding area
Pandemic slows down the pull of big cities
Corona throttles migration within Germany but also immigration from abroad. According to a study, this is particularly noticeable in Germany’s major cities. Berlin is losing inhabitants, but it is the most dynamic city.
According to a study, the attraction of metropolises in Germany weakened during the corona pandemic. Some small and medium-sized cities, on the other hand, score with economic dynamism, as a study by IW Consult in cooperation with the Internet portal Immobilienscout24 and “Wirtschaftswoche” shows. Of the seven largest cities in Germany, the four metropolises Dusseldorf, Cologne, Stuttgart and Berlin lost residents in times of lockdowns and home offices in the Corona year 2020 compared to 2019.
“People are increasingly drawn to the surrounding area and to small to medium-sized cities, which are particularly impressive with their green spaces, a high quality of life and a good infrastructure,” explained Ralf Weitz, Managing Director of ImmoScout24. From 2015 to 2019, the population of the seven metropolises Berlin, Hamburg, Munich, Cologne, Frankfurt, Stuttgart and Düsseldorf grew by an average of 2.2 percent.
The study names slowed migration within Germany and lower immigration from abroad compared to the previous year as the reasons for the decline in the Corona year 2020. At the same time, the living preferences of many people have shifted as a result of the pandemic.
However, there was little movement in the annual ranking in terms of the current economic power of the 71 independent cities (level ranking). Munich was at the top for the ninth time in a row. The Bavarian capital scored among other things with its good location on the job market, quality of life and economic structure. The top five again included Erlangen (2nd place), Ingolstadt (3), Stuttgart (4) and Frankfurt am Main (5). Heilbronn made it into the top ten for the first time. At the lower end were the Ruhr area cities of Herne (69), Duisburg (70) and Gelsenkirchen (71). 51 different indicators from the labor market, economy, quality of life and real estate market were compared.
Munich is losing momentum
The changes in economic dynamics, which analyzed the development of 36 indicators from the labor market, economy, quality of life and real estate market within five years, were clearer. The former front runner Munich slipped to tenth place. Above all, the collapse in trade tax income in the Corona crisis plays a role. “That hit cities with many large companies hard,” explained study author Hanno Kempermann from IW Consult.
In contrast, the study sees the best development potential in Berlin. “The city has developed many advantages, including an excellent research landscape and universities. It is also the location of many start-ups that build digital business models,” said Kempermann. After 2019, the federal capital landed again in first place in terms of dynamics, while it only came in 41st place in the level ranking.
According to the information, some small and medium-sized cities in particular developed dynamically. For example, Heilbronn took second place in the dynamic ranking, while the neighboring metropolis of Stuttgart only came in 40th. Dortmund, Freiburg, Kiel and Potsdam each made big leaps up and made it into the top ten. According to the information, the newcomers scored above all with a high quality of life and a strong real estate market. Leipzig made up five places and ended up in third place.
In the sustainability index of the study, Wolfsburg came in first, Ingolstadt in third and Stuttgart in seventh, again this year three car cities made it into the top ten. The index comprises economic, ecological and social criteria. Among other things, the installed solar power per capita and the supply of electric charging stations were taken into account.