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Plattenbau in Plauen 2015: In the GDR, many apartments were built in series
Photo: Jan Woitas / dpa
Memories of the 1970s are awakened when politics in East and West quickly created new living space with flat housing developments.
Apartments will also be in short supply in 2021 - and Federal Building Minister Klara Geywitz is again relying on more uniform construction methods.
In order to implement the housing offensive planned by the Ampel government, the SPD politician wants to "accelerate the construction process," she said in an interview with Bayern 2. And: "In order to accelerate the process, we will start models for serial construction."
As a result, there would be less construction noise in the city centers, according to Geywitz.
In serial construction, modules would be used that would be manufactured and assembled elsewhere.
Then all that remains to be done on site is to set the base plate and assemble the modules.
Geywitz: "That relieves the construction process, makes it faster and also avoids a lot of construction noise and long construction times in inner cities."
Construction industry: The problem is a lack of land and building permits
In order to avoid further surface sealing as far as possible, it must also be checked whether the current stock is being used optimally.
For example, unused commercial properties could be converted into apartments.
The SPD, the Greens and the FDP want to ensure the construction of 400,000 apartments a year in their joint government.
Geywitz describes this as a long-term task.
The construction industry can also adjust to this, according to the Federal Building Minister.
The industry has rejected the goals set by the coalition as unrealistic.
"Technically it is feasible, but there is a lack of land and building permits," said Reinhard Quast, President of the Central Association of the German Building Industry.
The bottleneck is "on the paper, not the stones," says Quast.
It takes years in Germany to get permits and convert areas into building land.
"The key to more residential construction would be to simplify approval processes."
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