How can cities become future-proof – and why is change so difficult, particularly in Germany? Uwe Schneidewind explores these questions following five years as Mayor of Wuppertal. Drawing on his experience in the urban engine room, he describes cities as a lens through which social transformation is magnified: this is where processes of change take concrete form, yet at the same time cities are strongly oriented towards stability and continuity. Using examples such as swimming pools, school construction and local transport, Schneidewind highlights everyday systemic failures at the local level – but also where momentum is nevertheless emerging. The book makes it clear: it is precisely in situations of supposed powerlessness that islands of success can emerge. When successful projects grow and committed actors network, this can become the seed for more comprehensive change. Schneidewind thus draws a practical, realistically assessed and yet hopeful conclusion regarding urban transformation.
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