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Editor:
Presscouncil City of Chemnitz
Pressrelease: 700

Europe learns from Chemnitz: revitalising vacant old buildings

Invitation to the press event: 30 October, 11 a.m., Zöllnerplatz 19

On the occasion of the International Day of Cities, a press event will take place on Wednesday, 30 October at 11 a.m. at Zöllnerplatz 19. Representatives of the city planning office will present the building that characterises the city at this location. It was sold to new owners by the StadtWohnen Chemnitz agency, who will be renovating the building shortly. From this week, a large-format banner will also be attached to the building to draw attention to the ALT/BAU network. There will be a report on how the city of Chemnitz benefits from participating in the ALT/BAU network. Furthermore, using the example of the building at Zöllnerplatz 19, the existing obstacles to the revitalisation of unrenovated buildings are highlighted. A representative of the new owner, Zöllnerplatz 19, will explain the refurbishment plans on site.

Under the motto "Better City, Better Life", the International Day of Cities, initiated by the United Nations, is intended to promote transnational cooperation in order to jointly meet the challenges of urbanisation and highlight opportunities for sustainable urban development.

The city of Chemnitz is initiating a transnational campaign by the seven European cities in the URBACT network ALT/BAU on 30 and 31 October to celebrate the UN World Day of Cities. In addition to Chemnitz, the participating cities are the Latvian capital Riga, Turin in Italy, Seraing in Belgium, Constanta in Romania, Vilafranca del Penedès in Spain and Rybnik in Poland.

The ALT/BAU network, to which the aforementioned cities belong, is involved in an intensive transfer of knowledge on the subject of revitalising unrenovated old buildings. Two years ago, Chemnitz was recognised by the EU as a good practice example in this field for its "Agentur StadtWohnen Chemnitz" project and is now passing on strategies to the other cities, while also learning new, innovative ways of revitalising vacant old buildings.