In Munich’s Commuter Belt

Waste separation for optimal recycling of refuse is a German virtue: Yellow bags are filled with packaging material, and the “brown” bin with organic waste. In addition, there are “green” and “blue” bins, depending on the region for paper or glass, and a “black” bin for general waste. The image of a modern residential area in Munich’s commuter belt contains further typical contemporary aspects and contradictions of German society in the 2020s: environmental protection and the energy transition, mobility and real estate (the dream of owning one’s own home).

The massive influx into urban agglomerations is profoundly changing the surrounding communities. Former agricultural villages around the Munich metropolitan area are experiencing strong demand for real estate, building land, and housing due to the numerous new, attractive jobs in the region. Increased tax revenues can then be used to create attractive infrastructure for citizens, especially families: public transport, nurseries, after-school clubs and schools, a sports park, shopping facilities, and much more. This offering, in turn, primarily attracts affluent families who can afford the increasingly rising prices for land, construction, or rent. Former farmland has been transformed into residential areas with multi-family homes, detached, semi-detached, and terraced houses, often the so-called “Dreispänner” (three-unit houses). This leads to increasing urban sprawl and sealing of surfaces.

The energy transition towards a greater share of renewable energies is visible on rooftops through solar thermal panels for hot water generation and photovoltaic systems for electricity generation. There is also an increasing prevalence of electric cars, identifiable by the ‘E’ on the number plate. Homeowners here benefit from the clear advantage of being able to provide the charging infrastructure for their electric car themselves, and often use their own green electricity from photovoltaics for charging. Furthermore, the investment is supported by both purchase premiums for cars and subsidies for the infrastructure.

Even though every house must provide a certain number of parking and garage spaces for vehicles on its own property according to regulations, all street edges are lined with parked cars. In many cases, each adult in a household can be assigned their own vehicle. Despite a good offering of bus and train connections, individual car traffic has increased massively.

Perhaps the trend towards mobile working from home can alleviate this, provided there is sufficient provision of high-performance internet connectivity. In some places, new distribution boxes already signal the availability of fast fibre optic technology. The old copper cable technology still dominates but appears technologically exhausted and, in the opinion of many, belongs “on the scrap heap”.