The Leipzig-Charter

type: Frequently asked

What is the aim of the Leipzig Charter?

The Leipzig Charter lays the groundwork for a new urban policy in Europe. First, the European Union member states had to agree on their vision for European cities.

The Leipzig Charter seeks to redefine the idea of the European city, opposing

Single-purpose, monotonous urban development

The era of urban districts exclusively devoted to housing or commerce, of oversized shopping centres and large areas taken up by transport infrastructure is over. The Leipzig Charter recommends instead a greater mix of residential, work and leisure areas to make cities more interesting, lively and socially sustainable. Cities with a greater mix of uses are also less vulnerable to economic crises.

One-sided claims to possession

Cities are not the exclusive property of policy-makers, public administration or investors. The Leipzig Charter makes clear that all – individuals, policy-makers, public administration, businesses and civil-society organizations – are responsible for cities today and in the future and must get involved. Democratic societies need democracy at the local level.

Privileged single interests

European cities of the future should no longer be dominated by single interests, such as transport, housing or business. The Leipzig Charter calls for us to make urban planning the result of a public process in which all demands on urban development are fairly weighed up against each other.

Exclusion and isolation of certain neighbourhoods

The Leipzig Charter calls for the social and cultural integration of deprived neighbourhoods, viewing such integration as one of the main ways to achieve international equivalence at European level. Long-term, stable economic growth is possible only when cities remain stable and balanced in social terms.

The Leipzig Charter gives urban development a European dimension, defining the model of the European city at the start of the 21st century by recognizing the values associated with this model: co- and self-determination of residents, mixed-use development, social integration, public space.

What are the key messages of the Leipzig Charter?

1. Europe is urban.

Seventy-five per cent of the European population lives in cities. These cities are focal points for European integration as well as traditional centres of research and innovation – and thus also of economic growth. EU policy needs a more urban and regional dimension.

2. An urban renaissance

City centres are clearly enjoying a renaissance which must be buttressed by coordinated public/private projects. This renaissance offers the chance to encourage a more compact model of development for European cities. Government ministers responsible for urban planning have emphasized their support for inner cities. Compact European cities are also good for the climate by reducing motorized traffic and urban sprawl.

3. Protecting the climate is also a task of cities.

Cities account for nearly three-quarters of global energy consumption. Encouraging more people to walk or bike instead of driving, and providing a good public transport system, are essential today. Buildings that are more energy efficient make a fundamental contribution to climate protection.

4. Gaining public support

Europe must be more than an abstract bureaucracy. The European project becomes credible when citizens experience it as a social space and community of values. Only then will the idea of European integration gain broad public acceptance. Social issues are particularly acute in cities.

Europe cannot accept "no-go" areas in its cities. Overcoming social exclusion in cities is an integral element of the European community of values. The existence of deprived neighbourhoods threatens cities’ attractiveness, competitiveness, integrative social forces and safety.

Education is the key to equal opportunity. Deprived neighbourhoods in particular need better educational services tailored to the needs of the children and young people who live in them.

5. Cities should be attractive.

Building culture is becoming an increasingly important aspect of urban development, especially in view of the growing competition between cities to attract business investment,  Baukultur (improving the quality of the built environment) is a necessity, not a luxury. It spurs growth. At a time when it is possible to obtain everything everywhere, architectural quality becomes an instrument of structural policy.

6. Good local governance.

Urban planning is not the responsibility of the public sector alone. Both civil society and the private sector are partners in the urban development policy of the future, reinforcing local democracy. Their involvement also means greater planning and investment security. Cities should enter into new partnerships with neighbouring cities. Cities and their surrounding regions need visions based on a fair balance of interests.

Who should do what?

The Leipzig Charter of 2007 has led to specific task assignments and voluntary obligations.

The European Union member states

During Germany’s EU Presidency in 2007, the following measures were discussed with the member states in order to implement these aims: The member states

  • must accept urban development as a public task. This means including citizens as well as business and industry;
  • must accept integrated urban development planning as a central instrument which takes into account all relevant interests fairly and at the same time;
  • must pay greater attention to the quality of public space, streets and squares;
  • see a major need for action to modernize infrastructure networks;
  • agree to improve energy efficiency in order to counter climate change;
  • regard active education policy, especially in deprived neighbourhoods, as a key to a positive future;
  • agree that cities need to improve their built environment by paying greater attention to building culture.
The European Commission

The European Commission is called on

  • to ensure earlier and better coordination of legislation and directives developed at European level and the way they are applied locally;
  • to give higher priority to urban issues in future structural funds. The EU must help not only individual sectors, but above all those regions or urban districts most affected by economic structural change. The EU is not only an economic union but also a social and cultural project.

What was new about the 2007 Leipzig Charter?

The Leipzig Charter formulates demands and offers strategies. What was new in 2007 was the focus on the special characteristics of European cities, which all member states accepted. This is clear in the voluntary obligation to pursue the strategy of integrated urban development policy and to work to overcome the exclusion of deprived neighbourhoods.

The specific form these demands and strategies take will necessarily differ in the member states, given the different local conditions, so the question as to what is new about the Leipzig Charter will be answered differently in each member state.

Nonetheless, an evaluation of the Leipzig Charter in 2017 showed that most of the EU member states agree on the following approaches for action by the state/municipality:

  • integrated (i.e. focused on sustainability, centred on the public and multidisciplinary) urban development planning; and
  • acceptance of the fact that deprived neighbourhoods exist and that the public sector must take the lead in supporting them.

An updated Leipzig Charter: Germany’s EU Council Presidency in 2020.

In the second half of 2020, Germany will hold the Presidency of the Council of the European Union. An updated Leipzig Charter is to be adopted at an informal meeting of the ministers responsible for urban development. The new charter will keep the fundamental principles of integrated urban development, which have become widely established around Europe since 2007. But more than ten years on, the Charter must be revised to meet new challenges in urban development. And new conditions at global and European level must be taken into account, including the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, the New Urban Agenda (Habitat III) and the EU’s Urban Agenda. The EU’s Urban Agenda has created an entirely new framework for urban development at European level.

The Leipzig Charter will be updated in a broad-based process of dialogue with national and European partners. This process was initiated in 2018 and will continue until 2020.