Focus on Frankfurt: Home in the Gallus ensures political dispute!

Focus on Frankfurt: Home in the Gallus ensures political dispute!

In Frankfurt it is bubbling: an empty building on Lahnstrasse in the Gallus was occupied and the mind cooks high. This building, which is owned by the city, was unused for years and is now a symbol of the pressing debate about living space in the big cities in Germany. In an attempt to prevent speculation on the real estate market, the city has used its right of first refusal, but the resulting vacancy is no longer understandable for many. As [faz.net] (https://www.faz.net/aktuell/rhein-main/frankfurt/frankfurt-stadt-sollte- Hausste-im-gallus-sfort--110592334.html), the responsible departmental Sylvia Weber (SPD) partially tolerates the occupations. This leads to a feeling of incapacity to act on the part of the city and weakens the trust of the citizens in the state.

The toleration of occupations is considered by many as an unacceptable law fracture. Voices from the political landscape, in particular from the left, are now calling for negotiations with the occupiers, which raises questions about political support. Critics fear that radical parties could capitalize on this chaotic situation. The city faces the challenge of clearing out the occupied house as quickly as possible and either renting or selling to prevent further expression of public order.

The apartment crisis as a soil crisis

The topic of living space also makes high waves in other major German cities. According to an analysis by the Böckler Foundation, around 1.9 million cheap apartments are missing in Germany, including in particular apartments for singles and large households. Cities such as Berlin, Hamburg and Cologne are particularly affected. The traffic light government has set itself the goal of creating 400,000 new apartments annually, but reality looks dark. High interest rates and construction costs have throttled the construction of new apartments, and the numbers speak a clear language: from 295,000 completions in 2022, the number could fall to historical low in the coming years.

But what does this crisis have to do with the current case in Frankfurt? The article by practical-philosophie.org raises the question of who really belongs to the city and highlights the deep conflicts about property protection and the use of soil. It is a "soil crisis" that must be viewed against the background of the apartment crisis. Who decides how the floor should be used? And who benefits from the increases in value? These questions arise not only in Frankfurt, but also in other cities that fight with similar problems.

New living space and floor policies are required to meet the challenges. The lack of social housing, which has decreased sharply since the 1980s, has contributed to the current misery. If the city of Frankfurt and other German cities do not act quickly, the uncontrolled occupation of empty buildings could become a new normality and further burden the social structure.