Spotlight: Urban manufacturing

Urban manufacturing is an essential component of the productive city. Urban manufacturing is understood as "the manufacturing and processing of material goods in densely populated areas, often utilizing local resources."

Forms of urban manufacturing can include urban factories and urban manufactories, including crafts and urban agriculture.

• Urban factories are integrated factory sites, plants, or (traditional) companies in the city, such as breweries, large bakeries, confectionery manufacturers, or mechanical engineering companies. Examples of urban factories are Manner (Vienna), WITTENSTEIN SE (Stuttgart-Fellbach), Lindt (Aachen), Bochumer Verein Verkehrstechnik (Bochum), or the Ganter Brewery (Freiburg).
• Urban manufactories include craft businesses, the construction industry, and repair shops such as tailor shops, smaller bakeries, butcher shops, ice cream manufacturers, confectioneries, shoemakers, carpentry shops, soap manufactories, orthopedic shoemakers, or musical instrument makers. Examples of these are Pottmühle Biomanufaktur (Herne), Grubenhelden (Gladbeck), Gläserne Bäckerei Schmidt (Karlsruhe), ExRotaprint (Berlin), or Hafenkäserei (Münster).
• Urban agricultural enterprises are nurseries, agricultural businesses, community-supported agriculture, mushroom farms, or rooftop farms, as long as they are operated commercially. Examples of these are Hut & Stiel (Vienna) or Dachgewächshaus Jobcenter Oberhausen.

The idea of the "Productive City" aims to create inclusive and resilient communities through the establishment and securing of mixed-use structures that include production. This requires an integrated reorientation of the functional and spatial organization of urban systems at different scales, taking into account various production sites, both for the entire city and its sub-areas. The starting points for this are the changing socio-economic base of cities, ecological challenges, new forms of work and production, and the resulting changes in location requirements and space needs for production. This approach addresses not only cities but also municipalities.

Both inner-city commercial and industrial areas contribute to the securing and redevelopment of urban manufacturing companies, as well as the provision of space in mixed-use areas. In terms of the "city of short distances," planning processes should also consider providing crafts and trades that supply residential areas.