Frankfurt/Rhine-Main

Conurbation Planning Association

Tasks and Goals

Planungsverband Ballungsraum
Frankfurt /Rhein-Main

Contents
Preface 

Regional cooperation 

Regional land use planning 

n Regional monitoring 

n Landscape planning people, flora and fauna 

n Transport planning development of space and mobility 

10

n Regional retail trade concept 

11

n Regional concept for commercial activities 

11

Regional development: partnerships cooperations service 

12

n European cooperation transnational projects 

12

n RhineMain Regional Park Company 

14

n Frankfurt RhineMain Cultural Region Company 

14

n FrankfurtRhineMain Corporation International Marketing of the Region 15

n Economic Promotion Board for the Frankfurt RhineMain Region 

15

n Cooperation with the Organisation for Integrated Transport Management

16

n FrankfurtRhineMain Knowledge Region 

16

n Service for member municipalities 

17

Statistics

18

Glossary 

19

Dear reader,
the Frankfurt Rhine-Main Conurbation Planning Association was set up in
2001 as the successor to the Greater Frankfurt Association. The main task
of the approximately 130 employees is the creation of a Regional Land Use
Plan. This is a pioneering project for Germany: it is the first time that the
two levels regional planning and land use planning are being combined.
We hope this will contribute to a simplification of procedures and reduce
bureaucracy. The plan will tentatively become valid for the 75 member
municipalities in the year 2010; it will then outline the developmental
horizon of the conurbation area until the year 2020. Of course this is not
a static process; it will be continually developed from the first day on.
The Planning Association works in one of the economically most important
and interesting regions of Europe and is, therefore, committed to driving
forward the cooperation among municipalities in the conurbation area
and, in turn, promoting the development of the region. This happens
in a variety of ways, such as by participating in the associations for the
Regional Park, location marketing and the Cultural Region. The Planning
Association is also a supporter of the Economic Promotion Board, the
offices of which are also located on the premises of the Planning Association. There is also an agreement with the Organisation for Integrated
Transport Management; the expansion of the knowledge base is being
worked on with additional partners. Furthermore, the Planning Association
represents the region in various working groups for the promotion of the
metropolitan region and at a European level.
Last, but not least, being a service provider means we also feel obligated
to our member municipalities. Upon request, the Planning Association will
develop individualized concepts for economic promotion and supply monitoring data. It will also offer advice and help in finding subsidies, is available for support in traffic planning and much more. In addition, we take up
current problems in the region and explore them further, for example, at
conferences.
I firmly believe that the region will continue to grow together and work
together. At the same time, the Planning Association will responsibly fulfil
its tasks and use all possibilities of strengthening the region for international competition and to improve the welfare and prosperity of its citizens.

Stephan Wildhirt
Association Director

Planungsverband

Regional cooperation
Globalization is a catchword that describes the increasing international intertwining of politics, economics, and society as well as traffic, transportation, and communication. Like knots in a net, the metropolitan areas are
the interfaces of these relationships and have therefore become centres of
development. Distances become less important both globally and locally.
An increasing number of municipalities around the core cities are subjected
to international development issues. To promote balanced development in
the conurbation areas in the face of this conflict, the state legislatures in
certain German regions have created regional or planning associations.
To set a new basis for municipal cooperation in the Rhine-Main region, the
Hesse legislature passed the Act to Strengthen Municipal Cooperation
and Planning in the Rhine-Main Region at the end of 2000; this law laid
down new tasks for the organisation of such associations, created the
Planning Association for the conurbation area of Frankfurt / Rhine-Main
as well as the Council of the Region, and defined eight areas for municipal
cooperation.
Frankfurt / Rhine-Main Conurbation Planning Association
The Planning Association was founded on April 1, 2001 as the legal successor to the Greater Frankfurt Association. The Association has the main
task of creating a regional land use plan in the conurbation area together
with the Southern Hesse legislature. Furthermore, it can also participate in
inter-municipal cooperation in the conurbation area. The members are the
cities of Frankfurt am Main and Offenbach am Main as well as 73 additional cities and municipalities from 6 bordering districts.
Council of the Region
The Council of the Region is made up of representatives of the large cities
and the rural districts. It sets out the key principles on whose basis tasks
facing the region are jointly tackled. It reports on municipal cooperation,
holds municipal conferences, promotes the regions joint image, and is
responsible for cooperating with municipalities and associations of municipalities outside the conurbation.
Inter-municipal cooperation
The law intends that the regions municipalities, cities and rural districts
shall work together in the following eight areas, setting up associations
or companies to manage their cooperation: waste disposal; provision of
drinking water and industrial water; cross-municipal waste water disposal,
cross-municipal sport, leisure and recreation facilities; cross-municipal cultural facilities; marketing the municipalities as locations for commerce and
industry; the RhineMain Regional Park; and regional transport and traffic
management.
This has lead to the foundation of the RhineMain Regional Park Company,
the FrankfurtRhineMain Corporation International Marketing of the
Region, the Frankfurt RhineMain Cultural Region Company as well as the
Organisation for Integrated Traffic Management (see also from page 14).


Planungsverband

Other forms of cooperation

Alongside this cooperation in the centre of the region, various other bodies
and cooperative organisations have been set up in the Frankfurt / RhineMain region a region that stretches from the towns of Mainz, Alzey,
and Worms in the west to Aschaffenburg and Miltenberg in the east and
from the Vogelsberg area in the north to the Odenwald and the Bergstrasse districts in the south. The objective of these various initiatives is
to strengthen the region and improve its position vis--vis its international
competitors. For example, nine local Chambers of Industry and Commerce
(IHKs) are members of the IHK Forum Rhein-Main; over 160 companies
are involved in an initiative called Economic Initiative FrankfurtRhineMain
and over 200 municipalities in the states of Hesse, Rhineland-Palatinate,
and Bavaria combine forces in the Economic Promotion Board for the
Frankfurt Rhine / Main Region (see page 15).
Since May 2000, the mayor of Frankfurt, Petra Roth, has been hosting
a regular regional conference, to which she invites both the representatives of the large cities and of the districts as well as other important
public figures in the region. This conference, which consists of five
working groups (on culture, sports, tourism, transport and economic
development), mainly aims to promote inter-municipal cooperation in
the region.
The Frankfurt Rhine-Main metropolitan region
The spatial limitations defined above also apply to the Frankfurt RhineMain metropolitan region. With about 5.3 million inhabitants, a labour
force of approximately 2.7 million and a gross value added of approximately 160 billion euros based on the population figures it is the
third-largest urban agglomeration in Germany, after the Rhine-Ruhr
region and Berlin-Brandenburg.
Based on the number of employees required to pay social security contributions and the per capita gross value added, the Frankfurt Rhine-Main
region is in second place behind the Munich region. Also, due to its outstanding international importance as a convention and financial centre,
service location and transportation hub, the Report of the Federal Government on Regional Policy 2005 lists the Frankfurt Rhine-Main region as
playing a leading role among the German metropolitan regions.
The decision of the Ministerial Conference on Spatial Planning dated
April 28, 2005 named eleven German regions as metropolitan regions.
Focus was placed on the following:
n Political and entrepreneurial decision-making and controlling functions
(for instance seats of governments, corporation headquarters)
n Technical-scientific and socio-cultural innovations
n Rapid access to markets, knowledge and people (gateway function)
When taken as a whole, approximately half of all the inhabitants of
Germany live and work in these metropolitan regions.

Planungsverband

Regional land use planning

The main task of the Planungverband is the creation
of a Regional Land Use Plan. This new spatial planning instrument combines and replaces the previous
regional plan for Southern Hesse and the land use
plan of the former Umlandverband Frankfurt as well
as the land use plans of the municipalities in the
extended association areas. Therefore, in the future
there will only be one superordinate plan for the
Frankfurt Rhine-Main conurbation, which will describe spatial development through to the year
2020. It will apply to the 75 member municipalities
and therefore to an area of approximately 2 500
square kilometres with approximately 2.2 million
inhabitants and around one million gainfully employed persons. This is a pilot project in Germany;
a similar plan is only being developed in the Ruhr
region.

The Planning Association area

The Regional Land Use Plan provides a framework

for municipal developing plans and specialised plans
of other planning entities, such as transport planning. However, it will have no immediate legal
effects on the approval of private construction
plans and therefore will remain non-binding for
the citizens.
The plan provides information on the size and location of future residential
and commercial settlement areas, open spaces and their use, green areas
to be protected as well as planned streets and railways. In addition, important systems in the technical infrastructure, such as power stations or land
fill sites, social and cultural facilities, such as schools and fire departments,

Regional Land Use Plan (map excerpt)



Planungsverband

athletic facilities or locations for large-scale retail sales can be planned.

Existing features and planned features are usually shown separately so
that it is easier to see which areas have already been developed and which
areas can still support additional development, what should be changed in
the future and what should remain. The Regional Land Use Plan is digitally
drawn up at a scale of 1:50 000.
While current land use and landscaping plans and the regional plan for
southern Hesse form the basis for developing the new plan, the following
documents, among others, are also taken into account:
n Development ideas of the member cities and municipalities in the
conurbation
n Model calculations pertaining to the population, labour force as well
as traffic and transport development
n Studies pertaining to landscape planning
n Other specialised planning
n Environmental testing
The public, every member municipality as well as public agencies are involved in the planning process. The effectiveness of the new planning instrument depends on whether the concept of a common future for the
region will be supported and realised by as many of the involved parties
as possible. The Regional Land Use Plan has to be adopted by not only the
Regional Assembly but also by the Parliamentary Chamber of the Planning
Association. Currently, it is assumed that the plan will become valid in
2010.
The following pages describe more about the basic concepts used to develop the Regional Land Use Plan: Regional monitoring, landscape planning and transport planning. Statements about future types of land use
and recommendations for planning and developing the cities and municipalities should be provided by the regional concept for retailing and the
regional concept for commercial activities.

Regional Policy of the

Federal Government

Spatial Planning Policy

Guidelines

Principles of spatial planning

Regional Policy of the

Lnder

Land development plan

Targets and principles

for large-scale development

Regional planning

Regional plan

Targets and principles

for development

Local planning
Local planning

Regional land use plan

Land use plan

Description of the types

of land use

Local plan

Regulations for the

urban layout

System of spatial planning in Germany

Planungsverband

Regional monitoring
In order to fulfil our planning tasks, a uniform and extensive database
about the Planning Association area and the Frankfurt Rhine-Main metropolitan region is necessary. Trends must be identified and mapped; this is
the only way to detect opportunities and risks at an early stage. Responsible decisions about the future can then follow. The Planning Association
uses a Regional Monitoring system to make hidden regional and
municipal developments more transparent. On the whole, we consider
ourselves a service point for the region. We want to be a competent contact partner for delivering data and in-depth analyses to those in need
of information citizens, politicians, planners and companies.
The yearly brochure Regional monitoring statistics and maps for the
Planning Association area includes essential data on the 75 member
municipalities in the Planning Association about the issues of population
structure, employment, habitation, settlement structure, commuters and
others.
Furthermore, additional analyses and forecasts for the planning tasks of
the Planning Association are being created. We are developing the Regional Land Use Plan for the association area based on the assumption that
there will be a moderate increase in population figures (plus 2.5 percent)
for the estimated time period 2002 2020. In 2005, around 2.2 million
people lived in the Planning Association area. In addition, the current
labour force of approximately 1.3 million could increase again slightly
by 2020.
The data for the Frankfurt Rhine-Main metropolitan region are published
yearly in a separate brochure entitled Regionales Monitoring statistics
and maps for the Frankfurt/Rhein-Main metropolitan region. This contains
a variety of information about urban and rural districts in the region. The
Frankfurt Rhine-Main metropolitan region is defined as the area from the
Gieen district to the Bergstrasse district (north to south) as well as from
Aschaffenburg district to the Mainz-Bingen district (east to west). The polycentric structure of the region therefore covers parts of three federal states,
Hesse, Bavaria and Rhineland-Palatinate, and includes 17 districts along
with the seven urban districts of Frankfurt am Main, Wiesbaden, Darmstadt, Offenbach am Main, Mainz, Worms and Aschaffenburg.
A total of 445 municipalities belong to the region and a total of 5.3 million
people from all over the world live in the metropolitan region. The average
gross domestic product of nearly 33 500 per resident is one of the highest in the German regions. Economic strengths in the area are financial
and service consultants, transport and logistics companies as well as the
automotive, chemical and pharmaceutical, automation and materials
technology industries all in all around 2.7 million jobs.
The monitoring brochures and detailed special analyses, for example
on commuters, are also available on the Internet pages of the Planning
Association under www.planungsverband.de (see section Verffent
lichungen). The numerous inquiries and variety of uses of the regional
monitoring demonstrate the high need for data and analyses for the
region.


Planungsverband

Landscape planning people, flora and fauna

The Frankfurt Rhine-Main region is characterised by a polycentric settlement structure, with open countryside still remaining between built-up
areas. Protecting and developing this landscape is an important precondition for maintaining and improving the quality of life in the region.
Together with its member municipalities, the Planning Association has
been implementing the task of landscape planning covering the entire
region. The largest municipal landscape plan in Germany was created
for the region covered by the former Umlandverband Frankfurt and the
landscape plan was adapted for the open spaces in 32 more cities and
municipalities. Landscape plans are plans that local governments are legally
obligated to create and that deal with nature conservation and conservation of the landscape. They also form the basis for the work carried out
by nature conservation authorities and their stipulations must be complied
with in urban land use planning.
New qualities
Landscapes stand for home and quality of life as well as for the desire
for something permanent. At the same time, landscapes are subject to
constant change. Each generation has used and designed the landscape
according to their economic needs and technical possibilities. A dynamic
region such as ours urgently requires a future-oriented plan for securing
and developing this landscape. In this regard, the biotope network is of
particular importance as well as the suitability of the cultured landscape
for recreational purposes with the RhineMain Regional Park as its backbone. The goal of the Planning Association is not only to combine the
various sectoral concerns such as soil conservation, the protection of biotopes and species or environmental protection, but also to integrate the
various use claims for the available open spaces. To this end the Planning
Association works closely with the specialist authorities. They are mainly
responsible for the successful implementation of the nature conservation
and general environmental concerns.
The Landscape Information System of the Planning Association
Since 2002, the Landscape Information System created by the former
Umlandverband Frankfurt has been extended and intensified to cover the
entire area of the Planning Association. This means that detailed information is now available for the whole region on, for example, soil, water
quality, climate, air quality, nature conservation and landscape protection.
This information now also forms the basis for the plans Environmental
Assessment in accordance with EU regulations. Along with a general, encompassing evaluation of the effects of existing and planned uses on the
environment as a whole, an environmental impact assessment according to
the Flora Fauna Habitat Regulation and a special assessment to determine
the priority areas for wind energy use will also be conducted, if necessary.
The future Umweltmonitoring (environmental monitoring) as a longterm system for the observation of unpredictable negative changes in
the environment helps to secure and improve the quality of the regional
man-made landscape. This opens new paths for environmental strategies
and concepts in the 21st century.
Planungsverband

Transport planning development of space and mobility

The process of developing the Regional Land Use Plan includes carefully
considering and evaluating transport issues. An important basis for this
process was the database on traffic and transport in the region created
years ago by regional players in the transportation sector (along with the
Planning Association, this includes the Hesse street and traffic administration, the Rhine-Main Transport Association and the City of Frankfurt). These
partners are currently working on a continuation of the regional database.
The newest research results are used for modelling the expected developments of traffic and also for modelling the actual traffic, the newest structural data and other miscellaneous data relevant for traffic are also used.
The future transportation developments as well as the expected load factor
on the infrastructure can be determined on the basis of the VDRM. Alternative solutions to eliminate transportation bottlenecks or to adapt the traffic
infrastructure to changed residential structures (new housing areas, major
changes in usage patterns, etc.) can be evaluated based on their effects
on the transportation network. All of the data can be broken down into
small spatial units.
Studies for important transport projects
Together with the Rhine-Main Transport Association, the Planning Association is contributing to the realization of what is currently the most important transport project in the region: the Regionaltangente West (RTW).
The RTW project is a tangential local rail line linking Bad Homburg and
the north-west of Frankfurt via Eschborn, Frankfurt-Hchst and the airport
to the centre of Neu-Isenburg and Dreieich-Buchschlag. This will link centres
of housing development outside the core Frankfurt area, providing important additions to the existing local train services that radiate like spokes
from the inner city of Frankfurt out to the region.
Promotion of bicycle traffic
The Planning Association also contributes to the national cycle path plan:
Together with partners in the towns, municipalities and districts, the transport authorities and the German Cycling Federation, it is developing a
regional network of cycling paths. It also mediates the RADforum RheinMain and coordinates the regional project bike + business to promote
the bicycle in commuter traffic.
The Planning Association as a mediator
Regional as well as many local transport projects often affect more than
one municipality in the conurbation. The Planning Association, which has a
high level of expertise in transport and general planning, helps to reconcile
the varying interests affected by such projects. This can be applied, for example, in agreeing on traffic roads such as for the RTW or for bypass roads.
Together with the Hesse Ministry of Transport, the Planning Association has
also developed a regional rail concept for the transport of goods in order to
use existing potentials as well as those which can easily be established.

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Planungsverband

Regional retail trade concept

In many ways, the Planning Association is involved with retail trade in the
Frankfurt / Rhine-Main region. Its employees observe and analyse important developments such as the increasing number of settlements of larger
retail companies on the greenfield sites and the corresponding increase in
shop floors. Changes in the population structure and consumer behaviour
have been to the benefit of conveniently positioned locations with inexpensive offers. The winners are, for example, the discount stores which
are gaining increasing market shares at the expense of department stores
and traditional specialty stores. This results in businesses closing and more
and more vacant buildings in the inner cities, which not only leads to a
lower selection in the centres, but also worsens the local supply of daily
goods. All of these phenomena can be found in the Frankfurt Rhine-Main
region.
With this in mind the Parliament of the Planning Association decided to
create a regional retail trade concept for the Planning Association area.
The most important goals of this retail trade concept include securing the
local supply as well as strengthening the inner cities, city centres and suburban centres. These central supply areas should be open to public use and
recreation while improving the quality of urban life by inviting the visitor
to stay and linger. Furthermore, the regional retail trade concept will help
the municipalities to reach an understanding as to suitable locations for
large-scale retail trade facilities (planning of tenders) and make recommendations for urban land-use planning. The results of the regional retail trade
concept will also be considered for the establishment procedures or an
initial topic change to the Regional Land Use Plan.

Regional concept for commercial activities

How do innovative companies work? What are the differences in land use
between industrial companies and service companies? What will commercial areas of the future look like? Are there locations that are particularly
suited to certain industries? As the responsible body of the Regional Land
Use Plan, the Planning Association is confronted with a variety of questions. The developments behind these questions are reflected in the demand for land area and the land required. The strategic vision for the
Regional Land Use Plan Frankfurt / Rhein-Main 2020 the European
metropolitan region formulates the goal of promoting the area as an
economic and knowledge region. To do this, the economic strengths of
the region must be analysed.
The Planning Association, to a degree with partners such as the Hesse
Agency Company, the FrankfurtRhineMain Corporation and the IHK-Forum
Rhein-Main, develops the following components: It determines the forms
of use of commercial building sites (among other things, industry structure,
building structure), analyses the industrial development in the past years
with the help of statistics and surveys, describes trends in working methods and land use for the leading industries in the region (such as chemical
and pharmaceutical, automation, logistics, automotive) and formulates
recommendations for the planning and development of the municipalities.
Planungsverband

11

Regional development:
partnership cooperations service
Along with the creation of the Regional Land Use Plan, the Planning Association is also legally required to promote the regional development and
to continue to build on this development. In this respect, the Planning
Association is actively involved in various ways: It represents the region
in European networks, acquires EU subsidies, provides its know-how to
companies that take care of the Regional Park and the Cultural Region
as well as the marketing of the region. Additionally it is active in the Economic Promotion Board as well as in the organisation of integrated transport management, has worked together with partners to network the
knowledge region and also offers individualized services for its member
municipalities. Just continue reading to find out more!

European cooperation transnational projects

Europe is growing together. This doesnt happen on its own nor just on
order from above but through the active cooperation of the regions. The
Territorial Agenda and various support programmes encourage the regions and cities of Europe to work on long-term economic growth and
higher employment levels through joint spatial development strategies.
The Planning Association is involved at a variety of levels.
Interreg joint initiative
With the Interreg joint initiative, the EU is promoting cooperation in spatial
planning among regions in Europe to strengthen the economic and social
cohesion, to minimise risks to the environment, and to thereby promote
the development of the EU as a whole. Using this promotional scheme,
the Planning Association initiates and manages various projects for the
region as a whole as well as for individual municipalities and institutions.
The successful completion of the Sustainable Open Space (SOS) project
is an example of this. The Weather Park in Offenbach is one of various tangible results. The Sustainable and Accessible Urban Landscapes (SAUL)
project, which included the financing of the projects Route of Industrial
Culture and Hohe Strae (the touristical development of a historical
communication road between Frankfurt and Leipzig) as well as a new
bridge across the Nidda river in Frankfurt-Bonames, is being continued.
A current project within SAUL is to link Frankfurts green belt between
the Main river and the Ostpark, close to the new location of the European
Central Bank. A new project is the Smart Economic Growth SEG project in which a group of growth regions in north-west Europe (London,
Brussels, Utrecht, Frankfurt/Rhine-Main) search for sustainable management of a growth economy continuously hungry for land. In our region,
this concerns intermediate use of vacant commercial property as well as
the joint development of commercial areas in the Wetterau region.
All joint initiatives will be redefined in the new EU budget period from
2007 to 2013. The region can apply with new projects if it finds international partners. The Planning Association is considering projects for the
development of the river landscapes in the region, for dealing with the
effects of the airport within the future settlement limitation area and for
the management of vacant shops in the inner cities.
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Planungsverband

Apart from developing support programs, the Planning Association represents the Frankfurt Rhine-Main metropolitan region in various European
networks which in turn represent the interests vis--vis the EU and also
provide a platform for the exchange of information and experience and
the joint project development.
Network of European Metropolitan Regions and Areas (Metrex)
Metrex is the mouthpiece representing over 120 metropolitan regions
vis--vis the EU. It is a network of practicians from the corresponding
metropolitan regions.
Airport Regions Conference (ARC)
The ARC is a network made up of approximately 30 regions and cities with
large airports within their territory. The ARCs objectives are to strengthen
the influence of regional and local authorities as active partners in shaping
air traffic and its effects on the regional.
Peri-Urban Regions Platform Europe (Purple)
Large parts of the European conurbation areas are transition zones
between the cities and the countryside. The international term for this
is peri-urban landscape. The Planning Association is a member of
Purple, which represents the interests of these areas.

Planungsverband

13

RhineMain Regional Park Company

The RhineMain Regional Park project was started in 1994 by a committee of the Greater Frankfurt Association with the goal of creating a network of attractive regional park routes on the open spaces in the conurbation area. This includes Frankfurts green belt and the Offenbach green
ring, leading past gardens and nature conservation areas. Groves offer
a place to rest and historically important places such as fortified towers,
border ramparts and historic execution sites mark the path. Works of art
and monuments of industrial history as well as landmarks and observation
towers offer unusual perspectives. Adventure playgrounds are inviting
areas for children to play in; grown-ups can get a bite to eat in so-called
Strauwirtschaften, where wine growers sell their own produce directly.
A consistently applied system of signs and regional park posts makes it
easier for the wanderer and cyclist to walk along the paths and explore
the area by bike. About 1000 kilometres of park routes are planned: from
Schlchtern in the east to Wiesbaden in the west, from Gro-Gerau in
the south to Nidda in the north. The Regional Park is both a regional and
a local project formed by many individual contributions from the municipalities and the citizens. Together, these projects form a network that
stretches across the region. Above and beyond the local benefits, it gives
rise to something that is greater than the sum of its parts. To realize the
Regional Park, the Association and various municipalities founded several
implementation companies. Up to now, 250 kilometres of paths and over
130 individual projects have been financed at a cost of around 31 million
covered by contributions from the association, the municipalities and sponsors, especially Fraport AG, as well as by subsidies from the state Hesse
and the EU and compensation means (Ausgleichsmittel). Until the end of
2005, the Planning Association was mainly responsible for the Regional
Park. Since then the Regional Park holding company, the RhineMain Regional Park Company, has assumed this role. The Planning Association is
involved with 6.7% in the holding company, which is based in Flrsheim
am Main.

Frankfurt RhineMain Cultural Region Company

There is hardly another region in Europe which hosts such a wealth of
literature, music, theatre, fine arts and everyday culture as the Rhine-Main
region. Culture is not only a location factor for the Rhine-Main region,
but is also proof of the quality of life. It is the heritage of a multi-layered
historical process, an expression of creativity and daily experiences and is
especially characterized by a multitude of facets. The Frankfurt RhineMain
Cultural Region Company was founded in December 2005 in Bad Homburg with the purpose of networking the cultural potential of this region.
It is a voluntary, cross-regional affiliation of 25 regional administrative
bodies in the Rhine-Main region and the Planning Association, which
have combined their cultural activities and marketing in various areas.
This dedication to the work promotes the awareness of the cultural variety
of the region and ensures a contribution to the regional identity. Recognized projects of the Cultural Region are the Route of Industrial Culture
in Rhine-Main, GardenRhineMain as well as the Spirit of Freedom
Freedom of the Spirit. The offices of the Cultural Region are set up in
the building of the Planning Association which also provides some of
the personnel.
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FrankfurtRhineMain Corp. Internat. Marketing of the Region

The Frankfurt Rhine-Main region is not only one of the most dynamic and
growth-oriented economic locations in Germany, but also in Europe. The
task of the Frankfurt RhineMain Corporation International Marketing of
the Region is to promote, present and market the strengths of the region.
Furthermore, the corporation positions the region specifically in international competition. To draw foreign investment to our region, the employees
are mainly active in foreign countries and present the districts and cities of
the region as a powerful and united greater region. The internationally experienced location experts present the region at business location seminars,
conferences during corporation visits and trade shows in order to reach
companies interested in relocating. In addition, they canvass foreign investors and support them in making all necessary contacts. Some of these
people are specialists on regions such as Asia, America or Europe; while
others are specialists on certain industries. In this way, potential investors
receive the location and market information they need from the founding
of the corporation to subsidies and costs of infrastructure. Upon request,
the experts bring all the relevant specialists to one table: whether tax or legal specialists for work and residence permits, associations, partner companies, authorities or institutions. Beyond this, we also support the search for
properties and suitable production or office space. The organisation consists
of 22 districts and cities; the Planning Association has a 1.5% share. The
head office is located in the MainAirportCenter at the Frankfurt Airport.

Economic Promotion Board for the Frankfurt RhineMain Region

The Economic Promotion Board for the Frankfurt RhineMain Region provides information about the region, the industrial real estate and the economic structure of the member cities and municipalities. It advocates a
reduction of bureaucracy and promotes framework conditions for com
panies and jobs. Two hundred towns, municipal associations and municipalities, twelve districts, seven chambers of industry and commerce, seven
universities, the Frankfurt airport management corporation Fraport AG and
other infrastructure companies have created one central contact partner
for information about the area. The board currently has a total of about
240 members. The planning association is the responsible body of the
Economic Promotion Board; therefore the offices are also located at
Poststrae 16 in Frankfurt.

Services provided by the Economic Promotion Board

1. n
 Support for the towns and municipalities in marketing industrial real estate.
n Creating contacts with groups of investors and the real estate industry.
n Organization of real estate events in member municipalities and districts in the region.
n Participation in the largest German commercial property trade fair, the EXPO REAL in Munich, with the
offer of a joint stand for members.
2. Development of specialised catalogues for certain sectors (such as hotel, logistics, production and leisure
area catalogues).
3. The organisation is the central contact partner for information about the area. Investor queries are
distributed by e-mail to the cities and municipalities, who will then directly contact potential investors,
thus enabling a fast and targeted response.
4. Exchange of experience and discussions of current questions of economic promotion schemes.
5. European networks: information on developments at the European level, applications for subsidies.

Planungsverband

15

Cooperation with the Organisation for Integrated Transport

Management
The Planning Association signed a cooperation agreement with the Organisation for Integrated Transport Management Frankfurt RhineMain in April,
2006. The goal of this cooperation is to jointly develop a regional trans
portation plan that distributes the environmental and functional roles of
transport while integrating regional transport planning and regional land
use planning. This is done in cooperation with additional regional partners
such as the Hesse street and traffic administration and the Rhein-Main
Verkehrsverbund transport authority.
Joint projects are, among other things, the creation of a regional cycle
path planner on the Internet and a master plan for mobility. There is also
a goal of using a German-French joint project to make suggestions for an
effective integration of traffic and residential development using practical
examples.

FrankfurtRheinMain Knowledge Region

The Frankfurt Rhine-Main metropolitan region is one of the strongest and
most varied knowledge regions in Europe. Knowledge-based facilities and
companies with high budgets for research and development are just as
concentrated as are excellent possibilities for accessing knowledge. The
number of university graduates, the educational level of the employees,
and the scope of patent applications demonstrate the high capability of
the knowledge region.
To pave the way for promoting companies, universities, and research facilities in the Frankfurt Rhine-Main metropolitan region more strongly, the
Planning Association worked together with the IHK-Forum Rhein-Main, the
Wirtschaftsinitiative FrankfurtRheinMain and the Institut fr Neue Medien
to found the Wissensregion FrankfurtRheinMain working group. This
is to strengthen the knowledge base of the Frankfurt Rhine-Main region
and develop an internationally visible profile a profile that includes much
more than the well known strengths as a location for financial services and
as a transportation centre. Together with universities, research institutes,
companies and organisations, innovation areas were defined in which the
region is particularly strong and which promise a growth in jobs and innovations. This project also develops the basis for the economic promotion
and the marketing of the location since it contributes to providing companies and research institutions with suitable framework conditions for their
development and to the comfort of employees and students in the region.

16 

Planungsverband

Service for member municipalities

Alongside its planning activities, the Planning Association provides a range
of services available both for individual municipalities and for the entire
area covered by the Planning Association, depending on the tasks at hand.
Planning consultation
Modified framework conditions and competition among the municipalities
lead the cities and municipalities to look for advice and assistance in further developing their profile as a location for business, services and retail.
For this reason the Planning Association offers support in the shape of
consultation services for individual municipalities or districts. This type of
consultation consists of various components. It is based, for example, on
the analysis of structural data and comparisons with other municipalities,
image analyses, technology profiles, discussions with experts and corporate
or household surveys. These basic components lead to a strength / weakness profile and proposed measures which are developed together with
the responsible parties from the municipalities as well as with citizens in
workshops. The results of these studies are also included in the work on
the Regional Land Use Plan.

Subsidy offensive for the Frankfurt Rhine-Main region
For the past two years, the Planning Association has been operating the
Subsidy offensive Frankfurt/Rhine-Main program. Programs and calls for
tenders offered at state, national and European level are systematically
analysed and checked for their suitability for the Planning Association,
the member municipalities, local actors and companies. This also applies
to the almost impenetrable jungle of tenders from foundations within Germany. Another new element is the development of alternative financing
models for public and semi-public tasks as well as the realisation of potential benefits of fundraising and sponsoring concepts.
Support in the transport sector
The Planning Association offers its member municipalities numerous
services in the transport sector, mainly data from the database on traffic
and transport in the Rhine-Main region (see page 10) provided for local
transportation evaluations. At numerous regional train stations, there is
an urgent need to expand or renew the bike-and-ride systems. The Planning Association is coordinating the plans of several municipalities in
order to ensure that the project as a whole qualifies for subsidies by the
Hesse government. Under the heading of the shared space concept,
the Planning Association presents its municipalities with the idea of
reopening public spaces and squares for public use and communication,
recreation, shopping and more, since normally traffic dominates these
areas.

Planungsverband

17

Statistics on the area of the Planning Association and the

Frankfurt Rhine-Main metropolitan region
Employed social
security contributors1)

Inhabitants
Total
2005
Hesse
Darmstadt
Frankfurt am Main
Offenbach am Main
Wiesbaden
Bergstrae district
Darmstadt Dieburg district
Gieen district
Gro-Gerau district
Hochtaunus district
Limburg Weilburg district
Main Kinzig district
Main Taunus district
Odenwald district
Offenbach district
Rheingau Taunus district
Vogelsberg district
Wetterau district
Bavaria
Aschaffenburg
Aschaffenburg district
Miltenberg district
Rhineland-Palatinate
Mainz
Worms
Alzey Worms district
Mainz Bingen district
Frankfurt Rhine-Main
metropolitan region
Darmstadt
government region
Planning Association

Changes
2000 2005
in %

per km
2005

Total
2005

Changes
2000 2005
in %

2)

GDP
per
capita
in Euro
2004

140 562
651 899
119 430
274 611
266 312
290 292
255 896
251 905
227 338
175 750
409 941
224 057
100 174
337 481
185 237
115 781
298 885

1.7
0.8
1.6
1.7
1.0
1.2
0.9
1.1
0.8
0.2
1.0
1.7
0.5
0.7
0.4
-2.3
1.6

1 150
2 625
2 660
1 347
370
441
299
556
472
238
293
1 007
161
947
228
79
272

83 924
460 363
44 344
118 745
61 453
59 424
81 300
89 979
73.817
42 177
109 899
75 292
23 065
101 717
36 474
26 269
70 979

-4.2
-3.6
-6.9
-2.2
-0.9
-3.2
-4.9
-3.9
1.8
-3.9
-2.0
-10.1
-7.8
-3.6
-7.3
-9.3
-3.3

51 164
73 931
35 851
43 359
21 383
18 842
27 483
32 031
31 712
19 760
25 131
35 551
19 657
28 798
18 518
19 399
21 408

68 642
174 974
131 376

1.6
0.6
0.1

1 098
250
184

40 318
43 832
33 961

1.4
-5.9
-10.6

49 272
23 076
25 439

194 372
81 545
126 328
200 486

6.3
1.5
1.7
3.3

1.988
750
215
331

94 864
26 288
23 116
41 892

-5.7
-0.2
7.1
-0.9

43 034
24 830
17 087
19 371

5 303 274

1.2

397

1 863 492

-3.8

33 452

3 778 124

1.1

507

1 409 475

-3.7

36 413

2 187 242

1.1

890

955 781

-3.7

43 589

1) Figures do not include self-employed persons, civil servants and low-income jobs
2) Gross domestic product (GDP) at market prices
Sources: The State Offices of Statistics of Bavaria, Hesse and Rhineland-Palatinate; own computations

18 

Planungsverband

Glossary

Administrative units
municipality Kommune/Gemeinde
district Kreis
rural district Landkreis
urban district Kreisfreie Stadt
metropolitan region Metropolregion
government region Regierungsbezirk

The Planning Association and its organs

Frankfurt Rhine-Main Conurbation Planning Association
Planungsverband Ballungsraum Frankfurt/Rhein-Main
Greater Frankfurt Association Umlandverband Frankfurt
Council of the Region Rat der Region
Parliamentary Chamber of the Planning Association Verbandskammer

Companies and bodies

Regional Assembly Regionalversammlung
Interreg joint initiative Gemeinschaftsinitiative Interreg
RhineMain Regional Park Company Regionalpark Ballungsraum RheinMain GmbH
Frankfurt RhineMain Cultural Region Company
KulturRegion Frankfurt RheinMain GmbH
FrankfurtRhineMain Corporation FrankfurtRheinMain GmbH
Hesse Agency Company Hessen Agentur GmbH (HA)
Organisation for Integrated Transport Management
Gesellschaft fr Integriertes Verkehrsmanagement
Rhein-Main Abfall GmbH Rhine-Main Waste Company
FrankfurtRhineMain Knowledge Region Wissensregion FrankfurtRheinMain
Chamber of Industry and Commerce Industrie- und Handelskammer (IHK)
Economic Initiative Frankfurt RhineMain Wirtschaftsinitiative FrankfurtRheinMain
Economic Promotion Board for the Frankfurt RhineMain Region
Wirtschaftsfrderung Region Frankfurt RheinMain
Rhine-Main Transport Association Rhein-Main Verkehrsverbund
German Cycling Federation Allgemeiner Deutscher Fahrradclub (ADFC)

Plans and publications

land development plan Landesentwicklungsplan
land use plan Flchennutzungsplan
Regional Land Use Plan Regionaler Flchennutzungsplan
landscape plan Landschaftsplan
local plan Bebauungsplan
regional plan Regionalplan
regional retail trade concept Regionales Einzelhandelskonzept
regional concept for commercial activities Regionales Gewerbekonzept
Regional Monitoring Regionales Monitoring

Special terms
regional policy of the Federal Government Bundesraumordnung
regional policy of the Lnder Raumordnung der Lnder
spatial planning policy guidelines raumordnungspolitischer Orientierungsrahmen

Planungsverband

19

Published by:
Planungsverband Ballungsraum
Frankfurt / Rhein-Main
Der Verbandsvorstand
Poststrae 16
60329 Frankfurt am Main
Contact:
Telefon: +49 69 2577-1250
E-Mail: info@planungsverband.de
www.planungsverband.de
Editor:
Frank Tekkili (editor in chief)
Barbara Helfer
Sabine Mller (Layout)
Translation:
Christopher Dreyer
Photo credits:
European Business School
Robert Gernhardt
IFA-Bilderteam
Wolfgang Leonhard
Thomas Linke, Linie Fotoform
Andreas Maleika
Planungsverband / IVM
Sabine von Bebenburg
Christian Wiegand
sowie Bildarchiv Planungsverband
Print:
Central-Druck Trost, Heusenstamm

2007 Planungsverband Ballungsraum Frankfurt / Rhein-Main

Planungsverband Ballungsraum
Frankfurt /Rhein-Main