First approaches to holistic urban development presented. After the city council unanimously decided to create an integrated urban development concept (ISEK) in April, the course has now been set for the next steps. On July 19th, the expert team gathered information from KITT Team 1 (Tourism Master Plan, Infrastructure) and the STEP team as part of a departure event with an all-round look at all fields of action.
The expert team, consisting of Ms. Charlotte Herbst and Mr. Frank Schlegelmilch from BPW baumgart + partner (spatial planning and urban planner) as well as Mr. Jan Sönnichsen for Destination LAB GmbH (tourist project developer), reinforced by Mr. Rolf Schütte from Baubecon Stadtsanierungs GmbH and lawyer Dr. Karl-Heinz Vehling from KSB INTAX first looked at numerous documents on a total of ten areas of action, such as living space, building culture and the beach, and analyzed them according to their existing strengths and weaknesses. In the discussion of the results with the KITT team 1 and the STEP team, Borkum's expertise came into its own and provided the team of experts with further valuable insights. This involved, among other things, identifying the challenges that Borkum faces in the various fields of action and the contribution that urban development can make to overcoming them and thus improving the quality of stay.
A site inspection in the harbor/reede and spa district areas completed the inventory during the course of the day on July 20th. The diverse uses and the potential of the harbor/reed district in particular became clear. The quality of stay as well as the life and experience there can be increased as part of an urban development standard and would be a benefit for both locals (in terms of living and working) and for tourists (first and last point of contact and impression). The existing potential is currently not being used sufficiently. This also applies to the spa district with the culture island and its immediate surroundings. In the evening, these first impressions and the further procedure were presented to the city council members in an intergroup meeting. The meetings were led and accompanied by Mayor Georg Lübben and Göran Sell (Managing Director of the City of NSHB Borkum GmbH).
The two days clearly showed that the ISEK is the right instrument to overcome the challenges that lie ahead of Borkum as part of the Borkum 2030 project. The ISEK forms the basis for applying for urban construction funding, which is essential for the realization of individual projects. The city council's decision on the ISEK project is expected at the beginning of 2018. This serves as a guide for the Borkum 2030 urban development plan. In order to continue to actively involve the Borkum population in the process and to benefit from their knowledge and opinions, a joint public departure event on August 30th and an island workshop will take place until the end of this year November 04th. “We expressly invite all residents of Borkum to take part in these events and to share their wishes, concerns and ideas with us,” says Göran Sell.
“Only together can we succeed in making Borkum the most livable and tourist-attractive East Frisian island and a place we all long for and feel good about.”
